Canberra, March 25 (IANS): Thousands of students on Wednesday protested across Australia against the federal government's proposed deregulation of higher education fees.

The National Union of Students (NUS) organised the marches to highlight the impact of the controversial deregulation bill, voiced their fears that undergraduate degrees could soon cost upwards of six figures, Xinhua news agency reported.

The legislation would result in government funding to tertiary institutions being cut and the NUS fears universities would make up this funding shortfall by charging students more for their degrees.

The reforms have twice been rejected by the senate, but Education Minister Christopher Pyne has said he will "never give up" until the bill is passed.

March organisers praised the 1000-strong crowd of students that gathered outside the State Library in Victoria to march for fairer reforms, with thousands more marching across other cities, including Canberra, Sydney, Newcastle, Hobart, Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane.

The NUS is pushing for the abolition of deregulated fees on undergraduate degrees, a fairer student income support system and better funding for universities across the nation.

The union is concerned that some undergraduate degrees would take years to pay off, and the changes would burden students with massive debt before they secure a full time job.

With reduced government funding, universities fear they would have to increase class sizes, shed staff, close campuses and discontinue some courses.