Open Letter to the University Of Auckland Councillors

Open Letter to the University Of Auckland Councillors

Dear Council Members,

In 1989 tertiary education ceased to be free. What started out as $125 per year is now around $7,000. You, as council members, have decided time and time again to raise fees by the statutory maximum of 4%. NZ's fees are the 7th highest in the OECD and total student debt has skyrocketed past alarming $13 billion mark. Students are suffering under the weight of this debt. 35% of students are changing their eating habits because of insufficient funds, 40% are constantly worrying about money, 11.5% are struggling to make ends meet and 10% are unable to manage on a day to day basis without borrowing money. This is not an adequate foundation for the future of this country. If fees continue to rise, our future will be defined by greater financial woes, a culture of debt and lack of meaningful education.

Student loans, or any form of paid tertiary education forces students to treat education like an investment. This is problematic because it means only degrees with a high 'return' are prioritised. We need more than just engineers and large animal scientists. Universities are supposed to be the critical conscience of society; a university run on a profit model will never be able to fulfill this role. Privatisation of the cost of education contradicts the socialisation of its benefits.

The situation for postgraduate students is worst of all. They are seeing their student allowances cut and can look forward to harsher penalties in the event they can't pay back their loan on time. Increasing debt places an undue burden on students, arguably some of the weakest members of society, yet those that hold the most potential within it. Students typically have little to no income, devoting all that we can to our futures and the future of our country. It is short-sighted and frankly disrespectful to target such a group simply because of our relatively weak position, especially when our main intention is to improve society. Students should no longer be the victims of draconian austerity measures.

You, as council members, have the opportunity to relieve this pressure for students. We urge you, as a whole, to cut back on unnecessary capital expenditure and oppose any increase of fees on students without cutting staff or pay. Fight with the government over its funding policies and allocate existing funds more responsibly. There are plenty of countries around the world who operate with free education systems and there is no reason why New Zealand cannot be one of them.

Yours always,

Reclaim UoA, the Students of the University of Auckland
Twitter: @ReclaimUoa, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReclaimUoA

ENDS

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