Students Protest the Budget and Changes to Tertiary Education

On the 16th of May, University of Auckland students are protesting changes to the Tertiary Education system.

Jak Davys, commerce student, says "Education is a pathway to a fair and equal society. National’s cuts to tertiary education undermine that pathway by making access to education a privilege for those who can afford it.

"Since 2009, inflation-adjusted funding for tertiary education has decreased by 8.7% ($400 million) and at the same time numbers of students have increased by 20,000.This means that less money is spent per student, deteriorating the quality of education."

Dayvs says that students are frustrated by increasing tuition fees and debt. He is concerned about how he will afford to pay for postgraduate study. "The cuts to student allowances for postgraduate study and increased the loan repayment threshold to 12% have made it really difficult for me. I’m not alone, in 2013, postgraduate enrolments decreased by 7.1% at Auckland Uni."

"When 15% of students are experiencing absolute financial distress and others are struggling to get financial access to the university, we can no longer say tertiary education policy is working." Davys is encouraging students to join him in protest on the 16th of May at 11:00am outside the University of Auckland Library.

ENDS

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