Arts degrees to cost $50,000 until at least 2028 as measures to lower Australian university fees put on hold

Under the Job-ready Graduates scheme, costs for science and maths courses were slashed to encourage students to take up Stem subjects, while fees for arts subjects rose sharply. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP View image in fullscreen Under the Job-ready Graduates scheme, costs for science and maths courses were slashed to encourage students to take up Stem subjects, while fees for arts subjects rose sharply. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP Arts degrees to cost $50,000 until at least 2028 as measures to lower Australian university fees put on hold Barney Glover, head of the Australian Tertiary Education Commission, says he will provide advice about degree funding to the government next year Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The man tasked with reforming the controversial Job-ready Graduates (JRG) program says he will not recommend any interim measures to reduce the $50,000 cost of arts degrees, despite calling the scheme a failure. Under the scheme introduced by the Morrison government, costs for science and maths courses were slashed to encourage students to take up Stem subjects, while arts and humanities fees rose sharply. The change led to university enrolments of students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds falling in some arts subjects, with critics warning of a “segregated” higher education system . Barney Glover, the new head of the Australian Tertiary Education Commission (Atec), told Guardian Australia he would provide advice to the government on funding for degrees in the second half of next year. Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email “I absolutely appreciate the frustration of people who’d like to see immediate action on Job-ready Graduates,” Glover said. “Our mandate is to get compelling evidence for change at a time when governments, not just here in Australia, but around the world, are under pressure in terms of investment in education.” Nearly 20% fewer lower socioeconomic students studying law as Pocock calls to scrap Morrison-era job-ready scheme Read more He had previously said the scheme was flawed, telling The Australian in May: “It’s clear the JRG reforms have failed.” The timeline has raised concern in the sector. The Western Sydney University vice-chancellor, George Williams, said it would mean the cost of humanities degrees would remain high until at least 2028. “The longer it takes to fix Job-ready Graduates, the longer it is that students will be paying unfair fees and taking on unreasonable debt,” Williams said. “This needs to be fixed urgently so every Australian has the opportunity to further their education.” Glover said work was already under way to determine how much it cost universities to provide degrees. “I’m confident we’ll deliver a compelling argument to government, and I appreciate the challenges, but I think this work has to be done well, and it’s very challenging to do it more rapidly, because it’s complex.” View image in fullscreen Prof Barney Glover, the new head of