Craccum Throwback | FEES SUCK — STUDENTS

To view issues of Craccum from the years 1927-1990, please refer to The Bookshelf, hosted by the University of Auckland Library. The years 1991-2016 have not yet been digitised, so please visit the UOA General Library for assistance viewing UOA General Library print records.

[Originally published 26th February, 1990 (Issue #1). Written by Max Chapple.]

The real impact of the tertiary fees has struck students in the face as they line up to enrol and some have considered abandoning or cutting their studies as a result. Students made the following comments:

"Why should fees increase to such a high level when my studying will benefit the country, when people on the dole are paid for producing nothing? Students are an investment in the future and the dole is not. I’ll pay fees to support myself and pay taxes to support the dole. Come on, get serious!"

 — Shane Ritchie

"I think it sucks because it is too much. Last year I had to get work to get some money but I still couldn’t get enough to cover the costs of the fees and the other costs of this year. I’m going to try to take out a bank loan. I hope they give a $5000 loan to people that don’t get $87 a week. I might have to leave to get some money so I can come back again."

— Scott Latimer

"Increased fees will make it very difficult for me to continue. I’m in debt to my parents already. Do we intend to have an unqualified and illiterate future generation? I can’t see how these fees will increase places in tertiary education and what good are places when you can’t afford the fees?"

— Delwyn Riesterer

"It stinks because everybody is entitled to an education of their choice; because the only people that are getting off the full fee are people doing vocationally orientated courses, which disadvantages people wanting a full education. It stinks because it restricts the type of people that go to university. The type of people that go to university is already too restrictive in that it’s white and middle class."

— Lyn Holland

"I took one course only because of the fees being higher. The boss paid and I didn’t want to ask for $660 to be spent on me."

— Anonymous

"Personally paying the fees is not a problem, although obviously they will be a major setback to many students on the campus. I think they should be reduced."

— Stuart Warren

"The effect of the increase on myself (a white 20-year-old male) is appalling. There are allowances for under 20-year-olds and under 16-year-olds when they are the people who have financial help. That is disgusting. The necessity for immediate payment is also disgusting—how are young people supposed to come up with $1250 to get an education when they earn a minimal wage until they are qualified? I am not amused."

— Anonymous

"I am a single income earner with a young family attempting to increase my earning potential by further studies. I am now half way through and have almost decided to abandon my studies due to the fees increase"

— Anonymous

"I am 19. I cannot afford to pay my fees. I could not afford to pay a loan. My parents have no influence on my income so why should some 18 and 19-year-olds get discounts and not me? I have not yet paid my enrolment fees as I only have $200 of the necessary $1000. I don’t think I will be able to finish my course. I am very disappointed in the support offered by the Government. Let us learn."

— Anonymous

"I am paying for my own fees but cannot get an allowance because my parents earn over the income test. I find it very annoying that a lot of teenagers can go on the dole and use our tax when I have to study and struggle with part time jobs."

— C. Downer

"I was intending to take two or even three courses this year, expecting them to cost about $80 or $100 a piece. The increased fees have meant I could only afford one course, after which I have $4 left in the bank. As a full time worker I feel that I have already paid for education with my taxes. I don’t know how the hell those less well off than me are supposed to get an education. Education should be the last thing that is made user-pays."

— Peter Jenkins

Archivist's note: The author of this piece, Max Chapple, further reported on the topic of student fees in two more additional articles within the same magazine issue. The first one, titled 'FEES BOYCOTT URGED', covers the then ongoing student protest to withhold paying the third installment of tertiary fees. The second, titled 'BANKS SPLIT RANKS', examines the shifting policies of BNZ regarding student loans that restricted first-year student lenders from any interest-free overdraft. You can access this specific piece alongside the rest of the articles on the magazine issue here.

Also, try to spot at least two typos on the printed article. First one to email managingeditor@craccum.co.nz with the correct answers gets a free copy of A Minecraft Movie (2025) with the unfinished CGI and deleted scenes 😊