Fee ‘stability’ passes the buck

Media Release - 27 June 2008 - For Immediate Use

Fee ‘stability’ passes the buck

Auckland students are likely to be hit hardest by proposed tuition fee maxima increases announced today.

The Government announced that the Fee and Course Cost Maxima rate (FCCM – the absolute maximum tuition fee that can be charged on a particular subject or course) will increase by 2.6% for 2009.

“We’re especially concerned because tuition fees at the University of Auckland are amongst the highest in the country, with most courses already at the absolute maximum fee limit. Some 38,000 Auckland students are likely to take most of the brunt,” says AUSA President David Do.

“The Government has once again passed the buck when it comes to how to stop burdening students, graduates, and their families with over $10 billion in student debt.”

“If ‘stability’ means ‘more of the same’, then that’s simply not good enough,” Do concludes.

ENDS