Rising course fees resulting in decrease in University students
University students are being blamed for wasting tax payers' money which funds course related costs.
This response has come after a One News report alongside an article by Stuff News highlighting that loans were being spent on strippers and concert tickets.
President of The New Zealand Union of Students’ Association Rory McCourt says the reality of life as a student is more difficult than ever saying that since 2005 around 90,000 fewer students are attending university.
McCourt further says that this is due to university fees rising 50 percent in the last 10 years, which is the equivalent to $2400 per student.
According to the StudyLink website, the government lent out $1,052,825,086 worth of loans to students last year.
In a recent survey conducted with 50 students living in the Wellesley Student Apartments, 46 percent of students said they used the loan to cover their course related costs.
Recorded by Ashleigh McCaull
The loan covers things such as laptops, stationary, textbooks, printing costs and materials. 30 percent said they did not get the loan out.
The remaining 24 percent said that they spent their loan on alcohol, overseas trips ,clothes, cigarettes and rent.
At Auckland University, students held a rally on Monday against the 31 percent rise of student fees since 2010.
Maori Party Co leader Marama Fox and Labour politician David Cunliffe are siding with University students encouraging them to vote and take action against the government.
When Cunliffe was asked about the allegations about students wasting their loan money he said “Those sorts of arguments are put up to discredit students and people should see it for what it is. Life is tough as a student, students have a harder time getting by and bigger debt when they qualify.”
Geneva Hamilton is a first year student at AUT studying a Bachelor of Product Design.
During an interview she said she needed the loan for one of her projects that cost around $1,000 which included materials and printing costs.
“I spent it on materials for my course because we don’t have text books so I feel I wasn’t as prepared for the amount of material costs that did come up. I feel like if you want to make good quality and slightly more pricy briefs then you won’t necessary have enough money from course related payments,” says Hamilton.
Massey University student Lynnesha Jepsen is one of many students struggling with financial burden.
“I had to buy my books and that was almost $500 for one semester, then had to pay for rent and things in advance so the money was gone in first semester. I’m now in overdraft at my bank so I could get books for this semester… I need a good $2,000+ to cover the essentials,” says Jepsen.
According to the StudyLink website, students who are studying are entitled to gain a student loan which will pay for all their course fees, living costs which the maximum amount being $176.86 a week, and the $1,000 course related costs if they wish.
Fox says that “student allowance in this country should be universal,” as the government does not take in to account the amount of family members living at home with their parents.
She further mentions that “only 35% of students are eligible for the student allowance.”
Attending university in New Zealand has not been free since 1989. In 2014 a total of 721,500 people needed to repay their loans back to the government according to the Income and Expenditure Survey by the NZUSA.
NZUSA further says that all together the amount owing to the government from student debt is $14.2 billion dollars.
Photo taken by Ashleigh McCaull
Photo taken by Ashleigh McCaull
Recorded by Ashleigh McCaull
Photos taken by Ashleigh McCaull
By Ashleigh McCaull
photo by Ashleigh McCaull
Full 2014 Income + Expenditure Survey at https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/students/pages/194/attachments/original/1439389138/NZUSA_Tertiary_Student_Income_and_Expenditure_Survey_2014.pdf?1439389138