Victoria University of Wellington Students' Association

The government’s decision to only increase funding to tertiary institutions by 2.6% when inflation is currently at 3.8% has made fee increases to students likely.

At this Monday’s Victoria University Council meeting at 2pm in the Hunter Council chamber there is a proposal to increase fees across the board by 5% to domestic students, and a $500 increase to domestic postgraduate students.

Once again the University is applying to the Tertiary Education Commission for an exemption to the 5% fee increase limit. The university are applying to the TEC to increase fees in Humanities, Education, Architecture and Law by 10% for 2007.

“Yet again the government that was elected in 1999 on a pledge to ‘cut costs to students of tertiary education’ is deliberately under funding tertiary institutions resulting in Student course fees being driven up” says Nick Kelly President of VUWSA.

“Student debt is currently over 8 billion dollars, and many graduates face a lifetime of debt” says Nick. “Every time student course fees are increased this problem keeps getting worse”

For further details, contact:

Nick Kelly
President – Victoria University of Wellington Students’ Association
027 563 6986 – 04 463 6986
nick.kelly@vuwsa.org.nz