Cost Of University Hiked By Unions

New Zealand University Students Association (NZUSA) has come under fire, being accused of hypocrisy for increasing their own fees while offering student money to compulsory membership campaigns.

The President of Prebble's Rebels, Clint Heine, said "if student associations are serious about cutting the cost of tertiary education, they should look to their own fees first."

"While NZUSA claims to be concerned over possible rises in student service levies they have given a silent nod to increases in the fee their member associations take from students."

"The most apalling example of this is Otago University Students Association, which has raised its compulsory fee for 2001 by 23%, a hypocritical move which is hardly compatible with their supposed aim to reduce the cost of attending university."

Mr Heine said that NZUSA has also offered to donate money to student associations at Auckland and Waikato Universities, to help them run campaigns about compulsory membership.

Mr Heine said "accepting this offer would mean students are no longer just paying for the association elite on their own campus, but are also acting as a crutch for the country's other failing student unions."

ENDS

For more information, contact:
Clint Heine (+64) (021) 122 8544
president@rebels.org.nz
http://www.rebels.org.nz

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