Students Fear Another WINZ Debacle

Students intending to undertake tertiary study over the coming year should apply for loans and allowances immediately, if they have not done so already, as it is highly likely there will be extensive delays in processing their applications.

Victoria University of Wellington Students' Association President Chris Hipkins said last year when Work and Income New Zealand took over processing student allowance applications there were major problems and major delays, and it was highly likely this would be exacerbated this year as WINZ struggled to cope with the additional burden of processing student loan applications.

"The fact that over 180 Summer School students are still waiting for their loan applications to be processed suggests WINZ have learnt nothing from last years debacle.

"If WINZ can't even cope with a relatively small number of Summer School students, how are they going to cope when all University students return to study in another week or two?

"I am also particularly concerned that students are unable to get clear answers from WINZ. They are being shunted from one office to the other, it's not good enough!" Mr. Hipkins said.

ENDS

For further information contact:
Chris Hipkins, VUWSA President
Phone 04 473 8566 or 021 707 927
Email: chris.hipkins@vuw.ac.nz

© Scoop Media