Barney Glover, head of the Australian Tertiary Education Commission, announced that no interim measures will be recommended to lower the $50,000 cost of arts degrees until at least 2028. This decision follows criticism of the Job-ready Graduates program, which has been deemed a failure and has led to increased fees for arts and humanities courses while reducing costs for STEM subjects.
Concerns have been raised about the impact of these high fees on students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, with university leaders urging for urgent reforms. Glover is expected to provide funding advice to the government next year, but the prolonged timeline has sparked worries about ongoing financial burdens for students.