‘It’s not free’: Gen Z’s uni rant strikes a chord

A student who had no idea her university debt would surge has lashed Australia’s “broken” HECS system - declaring it’s becoming “impossible” for Gen Z to go to uni.

An online petition calling on the Australian government to change the university debt system has gone viral on social media, with users saying the current HECS structure is making it “impossible” for Gen Z students to go to university.

Student Nariman Dein, who attends Sydney University, posted a video exposing “the truth” about the HECS system and calling on students to the sign the petition, which has received over 200,000 signatures in just 12 days.

In the video, Ms Dein explained how she did not realise indexation would be added to her HECS debt.

“I was under the impression that I’ll go to uni, I have this huge debt but I can pay it off when I start earning enough and the amount of money that I owe from my uni debt doesn’t change,” she said.

“But you have to pay interest rates based on where it’s at right now. And it’s not even making any difference into your debt, because you’re just paying interest. You think you’re paying off your debt, but you’re actually not.”

There is no interest charged on HECS/HELP loans, however, indexation is added on June 1 each year to adjust debts according to the consumer price index to remain in line with inflation.

The petition has received more than 210,000 signatures. Picture: Change.org

Last year, those with HECS debts were hit with a 7.1 per cent increase as inflation skyrocketed.

“Australia makes more money from our debts – from students – than they do from selling their resources, or fossil fuel tax,” Ms Dein said.

“So they’re making more money from Gen Z and millennials or anyone that is choosing to go to uni while knowing that there’s a crisis going on. People can’t afford to buy groceries, people can’t afford to buy a house. People can’t afford to do anything.”

The video was flooded with comments from other students also unaware indexation would be added to their debts.

“Bro what?! What interest?! Nobody told me!” one user wrote.

“This makes me want to cry,” another wrote.

Not everyone agreed with Ms Dein’s critique of the system.

“Gen Z here, already paid off my HECS debt ($100k+) by myself and only took about 1 year there is no excuse,” argued one graduate.

“Not everyone is able to do that. You’re so out of touch,” Ms Dein shot back.

“Everyone saying to pay it off as you go, but a lot of us dont have that money and are hoping to get it after we finish the degree,” agreed another follower.

The video has since gone viral on TikTok with hundreds of thousands signing the online petition. Picture: TikTok/@nariman.dein

Teal Independent MP Monique Ryan started the petition as she said students and graduates “kept talking to me” about how much their HECS debts affected them.

“So many people have $30,000 or $40,000 HECS debts – debts which in many cases are rising faster than they can be paid off,” she told news.com.au.

“The petition has gone a bit viral now; that’s not surprising to me. University used to be free, but now some people are saddled with decades of debt for getting educated. It’s a broken system. What this petition shows is how powerful our voices can be.”

She has just bought her first place. Picture: Instagram/ kirstiemcconnell

She has just bought her first place. Picture: Instagram/ kirstiemcconnell

On Monday, a Queensland worker told news.com.au how her HECS debt almost cost her a chance at buying her first apartment.

Kristie McConnell, 26, recently purchased an apartment in South Port, Queensland, for $365,000 after saving for years.

Ms McConnell, who earns $80,000 a year working full-time in digital marketing, revealed she had $60,000 worth of HECS due to her international business and finance degree.

She said her university debt became a major barrier to getting approved for a loan.

Ms McConnell was under the impression that, because she was a first-home buyer, she would only need a five per cent deposit, but saved up $45,000 to be safe.

“I wanted to have wriggle room. The place I was looking to buy was $365,000, and so realistically, I only needed $30,000, but I wanted to be safer and go for more than a 5 per cent deposit,” she told news.com.au.

“Then he went to the actual bank and got confirmation from them on the day that I signed the contract, basically saying the bank won’t give you that much.”

To buy her apartment, she’d need a $48,000 deposit because the bank wouldn’t lend her more money because of her student debt and the weekly $70 body corporate fees at her apartment complex.

She suddenly found herself in a position where she couldn’t afford to buy the apartment on her own anymore, and it was down to the wire. She had 24 hours to find an extra $5000.

“I felt like I’d been lied to. How many times did I have to ask? I thought, oh sh*t, I don’t have that money, and it was cutting it so fine,” she said, adding she had to ask her parent’s for the extra money.

“I want to be independent and do everything alone, but to secure the property, I had to ask, and it was humiliating,” she said.

Originally published as ‘It’s not free’: Gen Z’s uni rant strikes a chord