Inequality: the true cost of a university degree

The semester begins for most university students today. But the start of semester also means some of the Abbott government’s changes to education will start to affect students.

University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor, Professor Stephen Parker recently wrote a series of articles about how universities are creating more inequality for Australia. But when the tax and capitalist systems are even bigger contributors to inequality, is tertiary education part of the problem or the solution? What can the government do to support students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds?

Professor Parker – the only Vice-Chancellor from Universities Australia to oppose fee deregulation in 2014, joined Sam Baran to discuss this topic.

Producer: Nicole Ng

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