Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan announced earlier this month that the cost of certain courses like humanities would double with the intent to steer students towards degrees like maths and teaching.

The government believes this will increase a student's chance of getting a job when they leave university and help boost the economy on the road back from the coronavirus pandemic.

Ms Plibersek believes the only thing the government has done is made it harder for people to get into university and more expensive if they are successful.

And she said while the government wants people to go to TAFE for their training, it has cut TAFE funding by $3 billion and the number of apprentices is falling by 2000 places a week.

"It's just a dog's breakfast," she told Sky New's Sunday Agenda program.

"The universities are beside themselves, they can't work out why the government 's gone down this path because it is doing the exact opposite of what they've said they want to do."

Last week Mr Tehan announced an integrity unit to ensure universities maintain a high level of quality.

Ms Plibersek scoffed at the idea, calling it "nuts".

"Why not get the system right first," she said.

Australian Associated Press