Low SES university law enrolments drop nearly 20% as Pocock urges scrapping Morrison's Job Ready Graduates scheme
TheWkly Analysis
New university enrolments from students with low socioeconomic backgrounds dropped by 10% between 2020 and 2024. Independent senator David Pocock warns the Morrison-era Job Ready Graduates (JRG) scheme (a 2021 policy under former Liberal prime minister Scott Morrison that increased arts degrees fees while slashing science and mathematics fees by up to 59%) is creating a segregated higher education system. Nearly 20% fewer lower socio-economic students are studying law. Experts say the scheme has had a devastating impact on the very people higher education needs to serve. Arts degrees now cost students more than $50,000 under the JRG scheme.
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Key Entities
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David Pocock Person
Independent Australian senator warning that the JRG scheme creates a segregated higher education system.
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Scott Morrison Person
Former Liberal prime minister who introduced the Job Ready Graduates scheme in 2021.
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Job Ready Graduates scheme Law
2021 Australian policy that slashed fees for science and math degrees by up to 59% while raising arts degrees over $50,000.
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Low socioeconomic students Concept
Disadvantaged university enrollees whose new intakes dropped 10% from 2020-2024, with 20% fewer in law.
Bias Distribution
Multi-Perspective Analysis
Left-Leaning View
Frames the scheme as exacerbating inequality and segregation, devastating low SES access, and calls for its abolition to promote equity.
Centrist View
Acknowledges policy intent for job-ready skills but notes enrollment drops and expert criticisms without extreme partisanship.
Right-Leaning View
Defends Morrison-era reforms for prioritizing high-demand fields like STEM, viewing fee hikes as necessary incentives despite access concerns.
Source & Verification
Source: The Guardian AU RSS
Status: AI Processed
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