Goulburn Valley Grammar School's head of humanities and Melbourne University history professor Darius von Guttner said the government's proposal to more than double fees for humanities degrees went against the demands of modern businesses.
“There are a lot statistics to show that employers value critical thinking and creativity. This policy is contradictory in the sense that it does not do what employers are asking for — which is produce employees who are adaptable and creative,” Dr von Guttner said.
He said arts degrees produced well-rounded individuals.
“These are people who can re-train easily and who can analyse issues that are not even thought about yet,” Dr von Guttner said.
He said the Federal Government's attempts to produce "job-ready" students through lowering university fees for some courses while increasing fees for others were based on a misconception about the role of higher education.
“Universities are not about producing workers — workers learn on the job as they did in the old master-and-apprentice system.
“Universities are about producing employees that can face any challenge — people who use evidence-based logic, who can solve problems and discern between fake news and reality. These people are found in all sorts of jobs, including nursing and trades. Not every person who studies history becomes a historian,” he said.
Dr von Guttner said the government's reasoning was unclear.
“I can't explain why the government is doing this. They are using price mechanisms to try and regulate the market, which goes against free-market thinking — and which won't work in the long term.”
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