NZ tertiary fees must come down

19 April 2005

New international study confirms: NZ tertiary fees must come down

Students are today demanding an immediate end to high fees and restricted access to student allowances after New Zealand ranked a shameful 15th out of the 16 countries assessed in the Educational Policy Institute’s Global Higher Education Ranking Study on the affordability of tertiary education.

“This study proves what students, graduates and their families have known for years; tertiary education in New Zealand is completely unaffordable,” said Andrew Kirton, Co-president of the New Zealand University Students’ Association (NZUSA).

The comparative study ranks tertiary education in New Zealand as less affordable than in Australia, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland.

“This study is a major embarrassment to Trevor Mallard and the current Labour-led Government who promised to keep tertiary education affordable when they were elected in 1999. This research confirms that they have failed,” said Camilla Belich, Co-president of the NZUSA.

Students are calling on the government to stop blindly defending the current system and immediately lower fees to improve affordability for New Zealand students.

ENDS

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