Government to blame for skyrocketing fees

Government to blame for skyrocketing fees

Government to blame for skyrocketing fees, say Auckland students

The University of Auckland Council has approved a 6.3 per cent increase in domestic student fees for 2011, but the move has been heavily opposed by students who blame the need for the massive increase in student debt squarely on the Government.

The Council was split 7 votes to 4 on the decision to raise domestic fees, with 7 councillors absent from the meeting.

”The Council has missed a prime opportunity to send a clear message to the Government that failure to adequately provide for rising costs is unacceptable,” said Joe McCrory, Auckland University Students’ Association (AUSA) President-Elect and student representative on Council.

“We appreciate that the university is under severe financial pressure as a direct result of under funding, but it is not fair that students bear the burden of government inaction. Skyrocketing tuition fees and the need to borrow to live means that students have little choice but to take on a massive student loan, locking graduates into a lifetime of debt,” said McCrory.

Recent changes to the Government policy of an Annual Maximum Fee Movement has heightened the burden on students, allowing institutions to raise fees by a maximum of 4.0 per cent per annum, exclusive of GST, which adds a further 2.3 per cent.

“It is pleasing that some council members joined the student representatives to vote against the fee increase,” said McCrory. “The University Council must do more to acknowledge the financial difficulties faced by students, and the significant amount of debt many are forced to take on in pursuit of a degree at the University of Auckland,” said McCrory.

“There is wide consensus of opinion that the Government needs to commit to a significant injection of funding towards the public tertiary education system. In order for this to happen, however, students, staff, and institution management needs to work together collectively. In the interim, students should not shoulder the burden of under-funding in the sector by being forced to pay increasing tuition fees,” said McCrory.

“It is disappointing that the Council has chosen to vote for the maximum increase possible,” concluded McCrory.

ENDS