Budget papers reveal major concerns about student support changes


Steven Joyce's package of changes to eligibility for student loans and allowances are likely to disproportionately affect Maori and Pasifika students and successful settlement by new migrants, Labour’s Tertiary Education spokesperson Grant Robertson said today.

"Steven Joyce's tinkering with the student loan scheme will mean that Maori and Pasifika students may well be excluded from tertiary education. The question that Mr Joyce needs to answer is whether the negative impact on the future of Maori and Pasifika students and the country as a whole is justifiable for any savings that will be made?,” Grant Robertson said.

The Budget papers show a number of government agencies expressed concern that the overall package of reducing eligibility for student loans would be a regressive measure and detrimental to some groups.

Te Puni Kokiri stated the performance element (passing more than half the course in two years) "is at odds with the intent of the Tertiary Education Strategy to encourage more Maori and Pasifika students into tertiary education".

The Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs said that the "package may result in Pasifika students dropping out of University and going on to the unemployment benefit or shifting to cheaper avenues of study.

"Is this really what the Minister wants? In an effort to look tough in terms of access to student loans Mr Joyce is in fact affecting the very people who are currently under-represented in tertiary education, and who are a particular focus for the government's strategy " Grant Robertson said.

"The papers also indicate that the Department of Labour expressed strong concern about the two year stand down period for new permanent residents accessing the student loan scheme. They believe it will "adversely affect successful settlement outcomes" for migrants and that "limiting access to student loans in a recession is a regressive measure which will only increase pressure on the labour market and unemployment".

"This is damning criticism from the agency that advises the government on employment matters. National appears to view the tertiary sector as a place to take money from, rather than as a critical investment in our future. The role of the tertiary sector as the engine room of our economy is more important than ever in a recession when we need to ensure that we develop a stronger skill base to help lift us out of the recession."

ENDS

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