HECS Fees for Humanities Degrees Are Set to Double and No One Is Okay

Humanities students will pay as much as med students.

Earlier today, the government announced that the cost of studying humanities at university is set to double, while "job-relevant" course fees will be decreased under an overhaul of tertiary education. 

As reported by the ABC, the government is aiming to funnel students into industries that will drive job growth, such as psychology, English, languages, teaching, agriculture, maths, science, health, environmental science and architecture. 

Students undertaking those courses can expect to have their fees slashed. They'll pay between $3,700 and $7,700 per year, while those enrolling in law or commerce will have their fees raised by 28 per cent.

More than doubling the cost of humanities degrees is sad. They teach critical thinking, research skills, and broaden our worldview. It is easy to rip into them for not being ‘job specific’, but that ignores they are the scaffold to everything we know about our society.

— Daisy Turnbull Brown (@MrsDzTB) June 18, 2020

With humanities fees raised, that means they'll be just as expensive as med degrees.

The decision could discourage students from pursuing humanities degrees if they're going to cost around $45,000 for a three-year undergraduate degree. 

The government states that the policy aims to increase the graduate employment rate, however, the National Union of Students (NUS) believes all students should be free to study whatever they want.

"Being a student should not be a debt sentence, but the government has decided to force tomorrow's workers into a lifetime of further debt," the union said in a statement.

Others highlight that raising HECS fees would put them off choosing a certain course. 

It took my 8 years to pay off my Arts degree with Honours under HECS.
Humanities jobs are not the most high paying so, I feel sorry for those who presumably will now take twice as long to pay it off now that the fees have doubled

— Tali Aualiitia (@taliaualiitia) June 18, 2020

Cool, so the only people able to learn about poetry, literature and history will be those with lots of money or those who REALLY want to pay off a huge, steadily increasing debt for the rest their lives. I mean it’s not like knowing anything about say, history, actually matters

— Stephanie H Convery (@gingerandhoney) June 18, 2020

The government has specified that no current students will pay increased fees, and students enrolled in courses where costs are increasing will have their fees frozen. 

Reductions in course fees will be passed from next year. 

They’re doubling the HECS fees for Arts/Humanities subjects? pic.twitter.com/nmse3f6FXJ

— Michelle | #BLM (@michvanya) June 19, 2020

Header Image: InspirationGP / iStock / Getty Images Plus via Getty Images