Knowledge Society Needs Fair Tertiary Education
Today Chris Laing, OUSA Education and Welfare Vice-President, endorsed comments by Nikola Kasabov in his Inaugural Professorial Lecture on "Intelligent Systems for a Knowledge-Based Society". Professor Kasabov describes several problems the country faces in developing a knowledge based society. One of these is student debt.
Professor Kasabov claims "Over the last few years the number of students who continue their study towards honours and postgraduate degrees in computer and information science at Otago has been declining. This can be attributed to the large debts that students have accumulated during their first three years of study."
Professor Kasabov also notes that "Many educated New Zealanders are leaving this country for good." and that "New Zealand society doesn't seem to have enough incentives to stimulate and encourage intellectual achievements of young people..."
Professor Kasabov concludes that it will not be possible to build a knowledge based society in New Zealand unless "There is a dramatic change in the Government higher education policy. One possible way is to introduce lower fees..."
"It is essential to the development of any kind of knowledge based society that tertiary education has adequate funding. Countries like Ireland that have developed knowledge based economies, have free access to tertiary education." said Chris Laing, OUSA Education and Welfare Vice-President, continuing "We should learn a lesson from such countries."
ENDS