Evans aiming for unlimited university places

THE government will foot a bill of tens of billions of dollars to open up unlimited university places over the next four years.

THE government will foot a bill of tens of billions of dollars to fund it's commitment to open up unlimited university places over the next four years.

Student loans under HECS will increase from $17.5bn this year to $20bn next year and $30.6bn by 2016. The government will also fund university research to the tune of $7.5bn over four years.

Higher education emerged last night unscathed. Despite an initial blowout in estimates about how quickly demand would grow after quotas on university places were lifted at the beginning of this year, there is no sign that caps might be reapplied.

Tertiary Education Minister Chris Evans told The Australian the government's commitment to increasing the proportion of young people with degrees to 40 per cent by 2025 was unwavering. "The government took the decision that the productivity and innovation agendas required us to continue to invest in research and education, so it has been protected," he said.

Budget papers reveal the government expects to fund more than half a million undergraduate places next year.

"By 2015 we expect to have seen a 35 per cent increase in the number of students going to university," he said.

He trumpeted an additional 40,000 offers being made to disadvantaged students, as the government stretches to reach its second key target of 20 per cent of low socioeconomic students with a bachelors degree by 2020.

But an accompanying portfolio statement reveals the participation and equity agendas are not straightforward, despite the massive federal investment.

Innovation department estimates show that the proportion of students from a low socio-economic background is expected to rise only slightly, from 16.5 per cent this year to 16.7 per cent next year.

Furthermore, estimates on the proportion of students in full-time employment within four months of graduation would decrease slightly from 76.6 per cent this year to 75.5 per cent next year.

Expectations are that students will continue to stream into universities, with 600,000 government funded places estimated for 2015 at a cost of $6.8bn.

With no additional funding for teaching or infrastructure, the question over student-staff ratios and shabby buildings remains.

Among the only disappointments is the learning and teaching fraternity, which had hoped for a boost after meeting Senator Evans last week. It didn't eventuate.