Uni students chained to heavy debt ball have no chance to fly

When you and all your fellow students finish Year 12 and senior school, a great number of you will go on to tertiary* level studies at university, where you will study medicine, law, science, business, the arts etc and become amazingly smart people. Once upon a time, all those university degrees were paid for by the Government.

In 1974, the Whitlam Government abolished tuition fees for university – YAY!

But 14 years later, the Hawke Government reintroduced a form of payment with the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS) – BOO!

HECS is where the student pays back the government in instalments for the cost of the education after their studies, when they have gained employment and are earning over a certain amount.

Then indexation* of student loans was brought in. That is where the balance of the loan is increased each year according to the cost of living index. It seemed terribly unfair to students wanting to educate themselves and get good careers to then have the government whacking them with increasing loads of debt*. Students should protest about that, in my opinion.

The Albanese Government plans to do something about student debt in next week’s federal budget, but I thought I should draw a quick cartoon to illustrate the plight* of hardworking students being saddled with a huge deadweight* of increasing debt during these tough times with increased living costs. I thought back to when one of my sons finished his Bachelor degree in Business and how proud we were of him when we gathered in the grounds of the university for his graduation day.

I thought I could use the experience of that day in my cartoon. For the ceremony, he had to hire the gown and academic cap, referred to as a mortar* board, mainly because it resembles a board that a brick mason uses to hold their cement/mortar mix. From the centre of the cap is a very nice tassel which hangs over the side of the mortar board. After the presentation of the academic honours to the students there are abundant photo opportunities with proud parents and their high achieving kids dressed up in their gowns and caps, all beaming as they clutch their degree tightly, with the grounds of the university in the background. A great Instagram moment.

I thought I would picture this scene, but give it just one small twist. The cartoon would show a student standing in a scene just like the one we described earlier, but I wanted to illustrate the financial burden* the student was about to take on. Even though it was one of the most joyful days for a student, the HECS debt indexation would become a growing problem for them.

So I decided to have a little play with the tassel on the mortar board. Instead of it being a nice little adornment* hanging from the cap, it had suddenly morphed* into a heavy chain with a massive steel ball attached to its end. This financial debt ball and chain visibly weighs the student down. She attempts to smile for the photograph on her big day, but it is more of a grimace*. Reports that banks are taking student loan debt into consideration when people apply for home loans is a case in point of this ball and chain burden.

This is not the sort of graduation day picture we want to see!

POLL

GLOSSARY

• tertiary: relating to a third level or stage, as in coming after primary and secondary school
• indexation: the indexation method adjusts the amount of an asset’s costs by the rate of inflation, so HECS and HELP debts are indexed to keep up with changes in the cost of living
• debt: the amount of money or something else owed to the lender by the borrower
• deadweight: a load that is very heavy and difficult to move
• mortar: a mixture of sand, water, and cement or lime that is used to fix bricks or stones to each other when building wall
• burden: a load or weight that is difficult to carry or very heavy
• adornment: decoration, accessory or embellishment
• morphed: changed, underwent a transformation from one thing to another

EXTRA READING

The rate rise that stopped a nation

Cartoon shows worries keeping Treasurer awake

Trades pitch job pathways to kids

Pocket money on the chopping block

QUICK QUIZ

1. Who abolished university tuition fees and in what year?
2. Which government reintroduced tertiary fees and what was the scheme called?
3. What is the indexation of the student loans?
4. Why is an academic cap known as a “mortar board”?
5. When is student loan debt being taken into consideration by banks?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
Cartoon analysis
After reading and analysing the Mark Knight cartoon in the Kids News article, answer the following questions to help you get the full meaning out of his drawing:

What is the main issue Mark Knight is highlighting?

Who is portrayed in the cartoon?

How are they portrayed?

What is the humour in the drawing?

Who might agree with his viewpoint?

Who might disagree or possibly be offended by this viewpoint?

Do you think he makes a good point? Explain your answer.

Time: allow 25 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

2. Extension
Write a response to this cartoon from the viewpoint of one of the people or objects portrayed in the cartoon. Think, what would be their response to the speech bubble and satire from the cartoon.

Write or draw your response below.

Time: allow 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Visual Arts, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

VCOP ACTIVITY
What happens next?
Imagine this story is part of an animated series made up of three cartoons. The three cartoons tell the complete story and this article is only Part 1. Think about what the rest of the story could be and draw the next two cartoons that tell the story.

Time: allow 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Visual Arts, Visual Communication Design, Critical and Creative Thinking