Earlier this month, an episode of the ABC’s Q&A was gatecrashed by loud protesters from a variety of universities.

Steph Nash

They chanted so loudly host Tony Jones was forced to announce a sudden end to the show, with the ABC cutting to a short music video by Katie Noonan.

Two weeks later, and the streets of Sydney were filled with students participating in one of the biggest rallies since the Hawke government introduced university fees back in 1989.

What’s all the fuss about? One of the biggest debates sparked by last month’s federal budget is the government’s decision to deregulate tertiary education. Praised for being one of the top four export earners for the Australian economy, tertiary education is being privatised to improve the ‘diversity, innovation and quality’ of the education sector.

The lucrative value of international students is detailed in a paper from the Australian International Education Conference in Canberra in late 2013, which states that $14.35 billion was made last year from ‘educational exports’. The majority of this growth is constituted by the fees of international students, with around half a million international students currently enrolled in Australian universities.

UNESCO predicts this number to increase by over 100,000 by 2020, which the government expects will add an extra $7 billion to the economy. The deregulation of higher education not only allows universities to charge students whatever they want, but it also allows them to increase or decrease the amount of places offered to students for individual courses.

This is rationalised to be for the betterment of students – not specifically Australian students, but for students in general. The federal member for Bradfield and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Communications, Paul Fletcher, said the changes will also help the government, saving large amounts of time managing the business affairs of universities.

“Tertiary education is an important export for Australia,” Fletcher said.

“The Abbott government’s reforms will mean less Canberra micromanagement of universities which will leave them better able to respond to the needs of students, be they domestic or international students.”

Fletcher also stressed the need for a more competitive education sector, arguing the current system is outdated in comparison to the rest of the world. He claims that in deregulating higher education, the government is aiming to push universities to perform better, with competition motivating each institution to fight for students.

“Australia’s universities cannot compete with the best in the world within the current constraints of an outdated funding system,” he said.

“By freeing universities to set their own fees, they will compete for students. Competition will enhance quality and make higher education providers more responsive to the needs of students and the job market.”

With university fees expected to rise, and student loans now covering less of the costs, many students worry about how they are supposed to afford an education.

Indigenous Officer for the University of Sydney’s representative council, Kyol Blakeney, spoke at the UTS student rally last month about how the proposed education cuts will affect Aboriginal students.

Blakeney believes the cost of education is misrepresented by the 2014 budget, arguing that increased costs and less government support will deter many Aboriginal students from seeking higher education.

“In our culture, and for our people, education is a very important thing,” Blakeney said.

“We are still fighting for a free education because I believe it is essential to every single human being on this earth. The price of education to me, to my family, and to all of my mob is priceless. It is our responsibility to see what we can do to one day change the hope and fate of our people.”

With this in mind, it is easy to see why students are rebelling against the Abbott government’s proposed education cuts. What exactly constitutes a ‘world class’ university? Higher fees? Less university places for Australian students? Essentially, the winners post deregulation will be international students, universities and the government, with Australian students unfortunately receiving a worse deal.