Dentistry Students Deserve Refund

new-zealand-university-student-s-association

Wed May 01 2002 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)

Dentistry Students Deserve Refund

Wednesday, 1 May 2002, 12:41 pm
Press Release: New Zealand University Student's Association

The New Zealand University Students’ Association (NZUSA) is calling on the government to refund those dentistry students who paid unnecessarily high fees between 1995-1999 light of today’s High Court ruling in Otago University vs The Crown.

The High Court ruled today that it regards the decision of the former National government to slash funding to dentistry as “so erroneous that it could only be categorised as irrational” and that the decision is invalid and of no effect.

“This government has shown its commitment to current Otago dentistry students by increasing the government grant and halving students fees from 2000. They have shown by this policy change that they do not agree with the former National government decision to cut funding, and therefore they should not try and defend that decision through the legal system,” said NZUSA Co-President Andrew Campbell.

“Many of the students had to borrow huge amounts from the student loan scheme to cover the cost of their fees. It is important to remember that interest was charged on loans daily even while studying during the period in question, so they will also have huge amounts of compounded interest to repay. The government cannot wash its hands of the problem,” said Campbell.

“The bottom line is that a group of students were unfairly treated by the government, got into huge amounts of debt as a result, took the government to court and won. It seems only fair that the government now reimburse them,” said Campbell.

“Five years of dentistry students have been unfairly overcharged and it is the responsibility of this government to front up and refund them,” said Campbell

ENDS

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

a.supporter:hover {background:#EC4438!important;} @media screen and (max-width: 480px) { #byline-block div.byline-block {padding-right:16px;}}

Using Scoop for work?

Scoop is free for personal use, but you’ll need a licence for work use. This is part of our Ethical Paywall and how we fund Scoop. Join today with plans starting from less than $3 per week, plus gain access to exclusive Pro features.

Join Pro Individual Find out more

Find more from New Zealand University Student's Association on InfoPages.