Government signals plans for student fee rises
new-zealand-labour-party
Wed Sep 30 2009 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)
Government signals plans for student fee rises
Wednesday, 30 September 2009, 10:31 am
Press Release: New Zealand Labour Party
Hon Maryan Street
Tertiary Education Spokesperson
29 September 2009 Media Statement
Government signals plans for student fee rises
The Government appears set to allow tertiary institutions more flexibility to raise student fees and is signalling less financial support for older students returning to study, says Labour Tertiary Education spokesperson Maryan Street.
"It is also intent on significantly increasing competition in the tertiary sector – a return to the failed policies of the 1990s which fractured teaching and research collaboration in the sector.
"The plans were unveiled as part of the Government’s draft Tertiary Education Strategy 2010-15, released for consultation today," Maryan Street says.
"The strategy creates more questions than answers and is disappointingly opaque when it comes to the Government’s real plans. This can only be interpreted to mean it wants to constrain a full and meaningful public debate.
"But the smoke signals are there. After months of Tertiary Education Minister Anne Tolley refusing to acknowledge as accurate tertiary institution concerns about increased enrolment demand, she has finally conceded there are significant enrolment pressures," Maryan Street says.
"The strategy is clear however that there will be no additional funding to cope with the increased pressure. Providers will instead have to explore ‘additional sources of revenue….Government is committed to maintaining reasonable fees for students, but will explore ways of giving providers some additional flexibility to raise revenue,’ it says.
Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
"This is bureaucracy-speak for increased student fees. Under Labour, universities were capped to fee increases of no more than five per cent a year. Anne Tolley clearly plans to remove or raise the cap. She must explain her plan.
"Tighter eligibility requirements for student loans and allowances are also signalled, as are plans to remove Government support from students who have previously been in tertiary study – although again with no detail.
‘In a constrained fiscal environment, targeting more support towards young people may require Government to re-examine the level of assistance for those people who have already been supported to undertake tertiary education’ is all the strategy says.
"Increasing competition in the sector again, hiking up fees for some students and disenfranchising others will not increase our education levels or productivity. This appears to be another example of the Minister's short-sighted approach to education which could set us back decades,’ Maryan Street said.
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 Labour Party on InfoPages.