Government Misrepresents the Facts on University Costs for Students
12th March 2003
The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) on Wednesday claimed the Government is misleading the public in relation to the cost of university education for Australian students.
In an article in today’s Australian Financial Review, the Federal Education Minister’s Office claimed that, ‘students on average contribute 25% of the cost of their courses and the remainder is covered by the taxpayer’.
“The Minister is misrepresenting the facts by saying that Australian university students contribute about one quarter of the cost of their university education, while the Government’s own data clearly shows that students contribute on average 40% of the cost of their education,” said Dr Carolyn Allport, President of NTEU.
“Given that the Minister is about to introduce policy reforms that will increase the cost burden of university education on students and their families through the partial deregulation of HECS, his misrepresentation of the facts is nothing more than political expediency.”
Research published by the Minister’s own Department in 1999 shows that students’ contributions varied considerably depending on the degree in which they were enrolled, ranging from 26% for agriculture and animal husbandry students to 80% for law students (see Attachment 1).
The Department’s Higher Education Report for the 2003 to 2005 Triennium shows that in 2002 total Government Operating Grants to universities (funding for government-subsidised student places) was $4,495million and total HECS liabilities (the total amount that students are charged to gain a government-subsidised place) was $1,786m. Therefore, the average student’s contribution to the cost of their government-subsidised university place is 39.7% and not 25% as the Minister claims.
In a media release on March 5, the Education Minister has claimed that HECS costs to the Government were ‘around $300 million a year in discounts, write–downs and unpaid debts’, which ‘the Government willingly carries’.
“The reality is that it is the Government who benefits from the discounts offered to students who make up-front or early voluntary repayments, as it encourages students to repay their debts earlier and increases Government revenue,” said Dr Allport (Attachment 2 provides numerical example).
“The Minister is also claiming that the access and equity provisions of the scheme, which are achieved through debts being income contingent, are a cost of operating the scheme.”
For Information or Comment contact:
Paul Kniest
Policy and Research Officer
03 9254 1910
0418 170 622
Andrew Nette
Policy and Research Co-ordinator
03 9254 1910
0438 026 277