At the same time, cost-of-living pressures are having a huge impact on young people. The proportion of students having to support full-time study with full-time work has increased by 50 per cent since 1989.
Students are also taking longer to pay off their debt, now 10 years on average. Delaying repayments to higher income levels will further slow this, meaning graduates will increasingly hold student debt as they face other financial challenges, such as securing a home loan or starting a family. Wiping $5520 from the average graduate debt of $27,600 will make a meaningful difference, but again it will deliver nothing for new students.
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The overall unfairness of student fees is strikingly at odds with the rising problem of student poverty. Many students at our university, Western Sydney University, are reporting that they cannot afford to eat and study. Too many are giving up on their dreams of a university education and a better life. We have responded by opening a free pantry that provides staples such as rice and oats. To keep our students in study, we need to meet both their food and education needs.
The deep problems with student fees are well known. They were called out earlier this year in the Universities Accord final report. It found that the student fee structure needs to be replaced. Unfortunately, there is no sign yet that the government has heeded this call. It is focused only on the rate at which these unfair and disproportionate debts are being repaid. This needs to change if we are to have a higher education system that values equity and opportunity for all.
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