Otago Commerce and Arts Fees Set to Rise

The President of the Otago University Students' Association, Steve Day, chose to release confidential information from the Otago University Council indicating that Commerce and Humanities students would face significant fee increases next year.

“It is important that students have a chance to prepare for this probability.” Stated Steve Day. “Many students can only barely afford to come to University at the moment. Further fees may prevent them from doing so. They need to know whether this is the choice they face now rather than in mid-December when most will have left town and be working to save for a degree they could not realistically afford.”

“University has always argued in the past that fees only ever attempted to cover the shortfall of Government under-funding. Council needs now to be strong enough to stick to that principle and resist the temptation to switch to a model of competition with other Universities.”

The document indicates that the University has received increased funding has not been evenly distributed across all departments and that Commerce and Humanities would probably face the brunt of the new funding structure.

“While the Government is clearly to blame for the blatant under- funding of tertiary education the Council is yet again failing to act as a strong critic and conscience of such a morally bankrupt Government.” Said Steve Day.

ENDS

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