One of Australia’s top businessmen has taken aim at the university system, branding the student loan scheme ‘the greatest con job in the world’.
Despite completing a Bachelor of Commerce and a Master of Commerce in 1979, home loans millionaire Mark Bouris said many degrees were a ‘waste of time’ and questioned whether students were getting value for the debt they accumulated.
‘When I went to university, it was free. Now, my sons went to university, and they all come out of debt,’ Bouris, who is estimated to be worth more than $200million, said on his recent podcast.
Under Australia’s HECS-HELP system, graduates begin making compulsory repayments once their income passes a set threshold, with the amount they repay increasing as their earnings rise.
Bouris argued that carrying student debt left young Australians less willing to take risks with their money, including investing or starting a business.
‘And to some extent, they’re trapped, and they can’t actually do anything because when they start to get a good job, they got to start paying it back really fast, so that rate of tax goes up effectively because you’re paying off your extra debt.
Mr Bouris also said university courses needed to be better designed to equip students with the skills Australia will need in the future, and said students were forced to spend years studying humanities-style subjects that had little job prospects.
‘They’re not offering the right courses.
Prominent Australian businessman Mark Bouris (pictured) has shared his scathing critique of the university system
Students are being forced to take out huge loans to pay for their degrees.
‘I mean, like if you want to be a scientist, for argument’s sake, you don’t need to learn humanities.
‘Most of the stuff you’ve already learnt year 12 anyway – you should be able to just jam it all into a 12 month period without all the holidays.’
Mr Bouris said students were being asked to shoulder the financial risk of getting a degree without any guarantee that the qualification would result in employment.
‘It’s the greatest con job in the world.
‘If you’re going to lend me the money and you want me to pay it and you want me to pay you back, then you’ve got to guarantee me a job.
‘You don’t get a job, but you still owe the money the moment you get a job, you start paying it back – so like it’s a two-edged sword. To me it’s a con.’
Mr Bouris said university should be free for students studying important professions, arguing it would be an investment in Australia’s future.
‘We should be encouraging young people to go to university,’ he said.
KPMG analysis released last month found Australians collectively owed $67.6billion in HECS debt
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‘This is how you build nations. This is nation building.’
He said that not all degrees should be offered for free.
‘If you want to be a doctor, maybe, or a lawyer, perhaps some of those things, or perhaps a scientist.
‘A lot of the courses are a bit of a waste of time.’
The comments come amid growing concern over the soaring cost of university degrees and the burden of student debt.
KPMG analysis released last month found Australians collectively owed $67.6billion in HECS debt, with borrowers in Sydney and Melbourne accounting for the largest share.
Almost 2.4 million taxpayers now have student debt, with the average balance sitting at $28,500 and many taking a decade or more to pay it off.
About half of all HECS debt is held by Australians under the age of 30.
While university remains the most common pathway into higher education, the number of Australians carrying HECS debt has fallen 3.5 per cent since 2021-22, as more young people turn to alternatives such as fee-free TAFE courses.
The cost of a university education has also climbed dramatically.
A semester of study once left students with debts of just a few thousand dollars. Today, a single subject can cost as much as $2,714, while a full year of study can exceed $22,000.
Graduates are required to start repaying their student loans once their income exceeds $69,258, with repayments now calculated only on earnings above that threshold.
