Government Celebrates Ignobility of Student Debt Statistics
John Minto National Chairperson
Steve Maharey never had to worry about it. He got it free. Current students should not have to worry about it either.
New Zealand earns enough to provide free tertiary education to all students. Our budget surplus has climbed to
$5.5billion in the last 2 weeks.
But instead of supporting the current student generation, Minister of Tertiary Education Steve Maharey is claiming major
progress in making tertiary education more affordable because the projected student debt for 2020 will be $14.4 billion
instead of the previous projection of $17billion last year. (This is reported in the annual Student Loan Scheme report
tabled today in parliament)
Whoopee!!! The Minister may well celebrate this ignoble statistic but it is a statistic of intergenerational treachery.
It represents government acceptance of the betrayal of the current generation by Steve Maharey’s Baby Boomer generation
which has taken tax cuts for itself rather than supporting current students.
QPEC congratulates student groups for standing firm on the issues of fees and funding. They are keeping the concept of
equal opportunity in education alive in the face of government indifference.
Charity and scholarships are no substitute for fully government funded tertiary education.