I work, and like the vast majority of students do not qualify for the student allowance. I have managed to avoid borrowing for anything apart from the base university fees that one has to pay.
When working full-time in the advertising industry, like many other very pissed off graduates, I was forced to pay a portion of my wages each month to pay back my student loan. What a pain considering the scale of my loan and knowing that virtually every Labour and National politician in Parliament had free tertiary education!
What's easy to forget is that the previous generations had free tertiary education. Indeed, the entire funding model for tertiary education has been putting more and more pressure on students every year. And thus putting pressure on their loved ones, families and professional lives.
Not forgettign the fact that if you already owe $20,000
The Sunday Star Times dealt with the issue today. They tried to label our generation as being individualistic, which I think is a load of garbage, but otherwise it's definitely worth a read.
This election 18 to 35-year-olds will form one of the key battlegrounds in
deciding whether Clark will continue to lead the country. But the most
surprising thing about this group is how numerous they are, and yet how
quiet.
...
They are the first generation to have to pay much of the cost of their
tertiary education. Their life prospects have been adversely affected,
perhaps permanently, because they are the losers in a new wealth divide that
has sprung up between young and old as a result of the extraordinary
property boom of the past five years. To cap it off, they may end up footing
the tax bill for a retirement lifestyle for wealthy baby boomers which they
themselves may not share.
As a candidate in that age bracket, I know that our generation wants a positive message of free tertiary education, universal student allowances and getting the costs of the basics like food, rent and transport down. That's what I'm going to deliver!
3 comments:
Isn't it a bit unfair to make people who don't qualify (or want to go) to uni subsidise those who do? That is effectively what happens when the state gives away free tertiary education.
The student themselves is the one who gets the most benefit from their degree in learning, future earnings etc. etc.
I'm definitely in favour of trying to make education a bit cheaper, but totally free seems a bit much. People often don't value what comes to them for nothing.
I don't think 5 grand a year from a student is too much to ask for their degree. It must cost a lot more than that to provide the course. They are going to earn more money for the rest of their lives because of the degree. Chipping a bit back in to pay for it isn't too much to ask for is it?
It's not unfair, no. We (nominally) have the state pay for primary, intermediate and secondary education.
My belief is that we bond tertiary education debts. So let's say if you stay in NZ for 5 years after you graduate, by the end, the State will have automatically repayed your debts. If you leave before that period is up without a good reason, you have to repay back the entire student loan. And by that stage people will be settling down here, guaranteeing their service to our economy and society.
High debts from degrees are crippling young Kiwis, and making many of them move overseas as part of the Brain Drain(particulary those with the highest skills like medical professionals). They're stopping graduates from buying houses and put a massive mill-stone around the necks of people staying in NZ, as they have to focus so much energy on paying it off.
My belief is that it's not the student who gets the most benefit from learning, it's wider society. Having university graduates benefits the community and New Zealand as a whole.
It's an investment in building up the next generation of entrepreneurs, artists, businesspeople, politicians, doctors, etc. Many of these people are going to do work for people like you and me for their entire lives, so why not make their education a little easier?
Wow, it's good to see that no one with a University degree ever made money, paid taxes or contributed to the New Zealand economy! The only thing about today's situation being 'a bit much' is a generation of politicos who made hay while the sun shined with free tertiary education, yet are perfectly happy to tell today's students that they don't deserve access to a student allowance, despite rising costs in transport, accomodation and food.
Also, it's time to realise that the gender gap in pay rates means that this debt harms women more than it harms men. I guess equality is too much to ask for!
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