Students protest for universal living allowances

Students are protesting this week across the country to highlight key issues facing Tertiary access and participation which need to be addressed immediately in the upcoming Government budget round.

Yesterday 500 students attended a rally in Christchurch, while Victoria students occupied their registry. Today protest action spreads north with Auckland and Waikato students taking action.

“Students are not prepared to sit around and wait for the government to aimlessly address the major problems of Tertiary education for the next 3 years“ said Sam Huggard, Co President of the New Zealand University Students Association. “Students and the public alike want to see a clear direction and real results”.

“Students are demanding that the government address income disparities by providing universal living allowances”, said Sam Huggard.

The tertiary sector is grossly underfunded – this was proved by yesterdays announcements of further staff cuts and department closures at Victoria University.

“How many more institutions will be forced to cut back on quality staff before the Government takes action.” said Sam Huggard “Universities cannot continue to perform at their current level to provide the quality ‘knowledge economy’ that this country needs.”

“Something needs to happen sooner rather than later, and we are looking to the budget round for a fiscal commitment to education” concluded Sam Huggard.

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