27 October 2005

Students being punished for university's failures

It is unfair that students are to suffer the consequences of Canterbury University's failure to secure more adequate Government funding, Green Party Education Spokesperson Metiria Turei says.

The university has announced that it plans to increase student fees by 5 percent next year saying it needs to in order to maintain quality education.

"Milking students for more and more is a futile shell game that will do nothing for a quality education. It is a growing trend for universities to punish their students for failure to secure adequate funding from the Government.

"I am disappointed that the university has ignored the students' association's attempted to negotiate a lower increase.

"It is clear that the students understood the constraints on the university and were prepared to do their bit.

"But the university's refusal to accept that compromise showed that Canterbury has also been infected with the increasing contempt for students that is prevalent among many
universities," Mrs Turei says.

ENDS

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