AMUST News’ Post

Is HECS permissible under Islamic principles? Posted by Dr Abul Jalaluddin | 16 Aug, 2024 | Business, Education, Featured, Finance “In Australia, higher education financial support is provided by the Federal Government through Higher Education Contributions Scheme (HECS) and Higher Education Loan Program (HELP). As these are indexed to the rate of inflation and no interest is charged, there is no concern to be non-permissible in Islam”

I think this has been my most intriguing and useful piece of analysis in a long time. Excuse the punny title. The HELP system in Australia is currently under review, this system enables students to afford tertiary education through a government loan. Given historically high CPI, the impact of indexation on these debts annually has become a talking point, such that the Federal government commissioned the Universities Accord Review. Within this review are recommendations around the treatment of HELP debts, and what I have done is completed a thorough review and analysis of a statistical simulation of 50,000 graduates over a 20 years period and the impact if these recommendations were enacted. Share far and wide, there is extensive commentary in this space, emphasizing equity and fairness, but will any of these recommendations enable graduates to pay off their debts faster? You'll have to read to find out. #datascience #simulation #auspol #bayesian #publicpolicy #HELP #tertiaryeducation #education

FUNDING FOREIGN EDUCATION: SHOULD YOU SAVE OR BORROW? Loan vs savings: Starting early is the first step to planning for foreign education. Create a realistic budget, including expenses like tuition fee, accommodation, living costs, travel and payment timings. This will help you plan your savings and manage your cash flow before and during the period of education. Source: MINT (Ahd)_15.11.2024_Pg 11

We are pleased to inform you that Prof. Vidya Mahambare, Union Bank Chair Professor of Economics and Director of Research was quoted in ABP Live and Jagran Josh News. In response to the announcement of an allotment of ₹1.48 lakh crore for the education and employment sector of the nation, Prof. Vidya reacted that the budget focuses on providing financial support for higher education through student loans and e-vouchers and that there is a welcome emphasis on aligning skill development with industry requirements via upgrading industrial training institutes. She also added that despite the initiatives being significant, the budget lacks specific measures addressing the supply side of the education sector, such as skill-upgradation of teachers and addressing the teacher shortage. Read the full articles below: Jagran Josh - https://lnkd.in/gECHMdb8 ABP Live - https://lnkd.in/gffMWFtt #unionbudget #unionbudget2024 #educationpolicy

With the countdown to the general election well and truly underway, join myself, Kieran Smith and John Murphie as we discuss how to prepare for a change in the VAT treatment on school fees. Crowe UK #isba #vatonschoolfees #education #independentschools

The Albanese government's changes to Higher Education announced this week, including lowering the indexation on HECS debts and payments for practical placements will be welcomed by many of our students who are already struggling with massive cost of living burdens, but in my opinion these reforms don't go far enough. Perhaps we should be looking towards completely removing interest on HECS HELP loans. It is possible for a young person to complete (or partially complete) a degree only to find that they can't find a job in their chosen area of study and end up finding a job where the pay doesn't even reach the $51,550 pa threshold where they are required to start paying back their HECS debts. In the meantime their debt just keeps increasing over several years due to mounting interest. We could even go one step further and make Higher Education free as in several European countries who offer free education for certain nationalities and/or certain degrees.

💡 Insights from Budget 2024-25 💡 The Federal Budget delivered last night has significant implications for our marginalised and disadvantaged students. From the ambitious goal of four in five working-age Australians obtaining a tertiary qualification by 2050, demand-driven growth, needs-based funding, and student loan relief, to the establishment of a Student Ombudsman to quash gender-based violence and an Australian Tertiary Education Commission to establish greater accountability among universities, the Budget has set the stage for a fairer go for Australian students wanting to access and succeed at university. Click on the link below for more Budget insights from ACSES Executive Director Professor Shamit Saggar, or contact acses@curtin.edu.au. https://bit.ly/3WCtGr1 #budget2024 #studentequity #australia #universities

💰 We are looking for ideas about reforming student finance... Everyone seems to agree that the funding model for higher education is broken, with spiralling debt for graduates and cash-starved universities reliant on international fees from the Global South. But who can fix it? The CDBU is looking ideas, volunteers and personal testimony to lobby for change and exert pressure on politicians in this election year. Please email cdbupress@gmail.com with your contributions or suggestions for a planned symposium. #students #finance #studentfinance #educationexperts #HEfinance #studentloans

Federal Student Aid announced today that FAFSAs will not be processed until mid-March. This means that no college anywhere will get any FAFSA data from anyone until at least then. And it also means that families won't get financial aid award letters until the end of March or even early April. Nor will families be able to go in to correct anything put on the FAFSA or send to additional colleges until then. Why? In the law that authorized the new FAFSA, signed into law at the end of 2020, the income protection allowance - which is a deduction from income based on household size - should be adjusted for inflation each year. When Dept of Ed built the new FAFSA, they put in the income protection allowance but did not build in the inflation adjustment. So this delay is all about rebuilding those calculations. The advantage of the delay is that the fear on the college's part was that they were going to be FAFSA data at the end of Jan, but then had to recalculate aid again when those tables were adjusted. Now, the colleges can be confident that the FAFSA data they receive will be correct with the correct IPA. #FAFSA #FinancialAid #HigherEducation #CollegePlanning #StudentFinance #EducationFunding #Scholarships #CollegeBound #FAFSATips #StudentAid #EducationFinance #FAFSADeadline #FAFSAGuide #CollegePrep #FinancialAidAwareness #FAFSA2425 #PayingForCollege #StudentResources #CollegeAdmissions