John, I read your article (My Word, The News, April 26) regarding tertiary education costs and HECS debts with pleasure.
I have two young women in my family who are both working while studying to gain a bachelor’s degree: one as a social worker and one as a teacher.
The system at the moment is a disgrace. It seems that my children will always have a debt over their heads and, as such, will struggle to save to buy a house, be able to have holidays or have a satisfactory retirement in many years’ time. They will certainly struggle to have money to put towards their super over and above the compulsory contributions made by their employer.
Australia is a wealthy country, and we should be able to provide free education for all people. I do understand that there is a small section of the community that may wish to get two or more qualifications, and perhaps we ask them to pay for the second or third one, but we should be promoting higher education for everyone, as this is the way that we will lead the world.
Whether it is for an apprenticeship, traineeship or university degree, it should be free for all Australian citizens. Those who wish to access our first-class education system and who are not Australian citizens should be asked to pay the full cost of the course in advance, with no subsidies from the Australian taxpayer.
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