VSM – why it needs to go.
In 2010 the ACT Party with the help of National managed to pass a piece of legislation that damaged student democracy, and blatantly […]
tertiary education
Student Fees
Reposted from Nick Kelly’s Blog One of the big policies the NZ Labour Party took into the 2017 election was to start reintroducing free […]
Free Education – how to pay for it
I am a New Zealander living in Norway lecturing at NTNU, Norway’s largest University. For the last few months I have been thinking about the challenges of providing free post-secondary education. Norway offers free education for all students including international students.
The education mess
The complete mess that National has made of our health system got plenty of airtime during the election campaign. While it received less coverage, the education system is a mess too.
Labour oppose visa scams – Nats would rather have the quick bucks
Labour is right to stress the many advantages that immigration brings to NZ, and right to address the major way in which it is being abused – student visa scams. Bill English has made National’s position clear, they would rather have the quick bucks.
Interest free student loans – still safe for now?
A right wing “think-tank” wants to load students up with even more debt.
ECONOMY IN PERIL! DANGER!! WARNING!!!
Key’s second waitress bungle
Key’s badly dented “political antennae” took another solid beating yesterday, with his second high-profile bungle involving a waitress.
Praise for Labour’s tertiary bombshell
Although there have been predictable howls of outrage from the usual suspects, the media reaction to Labour’s bold tertiary education policy has been generally great.
Another policy to be proud of
Labour has rolled out another big bold policy that will shape the national discussion for years. Critics, most of whom received a free tertiary education themselves back in the day, want to deny a younger generation the same right (and pocket a tax cut instead). Enter Steven Joyce…
Tertiary fee drop – excellent proposal from Labour
Education is a public good, but tertiary education in NZ has been undermined by high student fees and debt. So it’s very encouraging to see a proposal from Labour for reducing fees (and not ruling out free education!).
Skill shortages and reaping what you sow
Data released to the Sunday Star-Times shows a huge decline in numbers of tertiary students, including declines in many key skills and fields. Various explanations are offered, only one of them makes sense…
We need staff to teach new students
There has been extensive coverage recently of universities’ tough new criteria to limit the number of students they will take next semester and […]
Tertiary education under attack
Before the election National promised that they would “Ensure that institutions have greater autonomy”. What does greater autonomy look like, National style? It looks like yet another National attack on democratic governance.