Nothing In Student Loan Report For Students

The New Zealand University Students’ Association (NZUSA) is today calling on the government to abolish the student loan scheme. The call comes after the government’s response today to the Auditor General’s report on the controversial loan scheme, which recommended not only changes to the way information about the scheme is reported, but also in depth research into the socio economic impact of the scheme.

“The government response to the Auditor General’s report is to simply tell us more in public and more often how bad the scheme is. Thousands of students and graduates could tell you right now how bad the scheme is,” said NZUSA Co President Andrew Campbell.

“In themselves today’s announcements are positive - quarterly reporting and accessible information are important. However the government should also commit to undertake major changes to the loan scheme based on the outcomes of any additional research,” said Campbell.

“Students will be asking how much information is it going to take for the government to make major changes to the student loan scheme. The real issues are the size and societal effects of the loan scheme. The government has still failed to respond meaningfully to the growing public concern surrounding student debt,” said Andrew Campbell.

“If today’s initiatives are not linked to a policy change then they amount to nothing more than the government protecting its ‘asset’.”

ENDS

For further information
Andrew Campbell NZUSA Co President
Cell: 025 86 86 77 Wk: 04 498 2500

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