Squawk wrote:mick wrote:My memory is going who introduced HECS?
It came in in 1989. A Labor initiative. Making a contribution to your education is fair enough, but if you have to spend 10 years paying for it and another howver many more getting on your financial feet, then you need some incentives to look forward to in life. Fast forward 20 years and the message has changed from "gone forth and do good" to "well done, now give more. And more. And a bit more."
I was one of the lucky generation who spent 8 years at University for free. I even took out a State Government student loan in 1973, later Don Dunstan was in some political bother in the opinion polls and abolished all student loans and bonds. I agree that some contribution needs to made with regard to education, however, I think the discounts offered for up front payment of HECS favour the wealthy and should be abolished. I've supervised a couple of Thai students whose government paid all for them to come here for an education. They were expected to return to Thailand and work in government positions for 5 years to repay their debt. Something similar could be done for high income professions such as medicine here, you pay no HECS but the government "owns" your skills for 5 years, this would be a great way to get doctors into country areas. A similar system of bonded employment existed for teachers in SA until the mid 70s.