Angry protests greet university fee rise

A window was smashed during angry demonstrations by students at a public meeting yesterday at which the Victoria University Council announced its intention to raise undergraduate fees by up to 10 per cent.

The council voted 13-3 to apply for special dispensation to raise fees for courses in humanities and education by 10 per cent, National Radio reported.

Meanwhile, fees for all courses will be raised by 5 per cent - the maximum set by the Government.

Victoria says its courses in humanities and education are the cheapest in the country, and it cannot afford to continue "subsidising" them.

If granted, Victoria's humanities and education fees would rise $322 to about $3540 a year, commerce and law by $192 to about $3970, science by $204-$240 to about $4220-$4260, and postgraduate fees by $500. The rise would pump $3.4 million into the university's coffers.

But the late timing of the bid means the 10 per cent fee rises would not take effect until next year's second semester.

Early last month student magazine Salient published leaked documents about the proposed fee hike.

The university won a High Court injunction to stop the magazine being distributed but later had the ban lifted when the magazine returned the documents.

The battle cost Salient about $8000 in legal bills and lost advertising.

Speaking to NZPA during a break in the rowdy public meeting, Victoria University Students Association president Jeremy Green-Brook said the fee hike was "not a shock but very disappointing".

"We have been lobbying quite hard against it, but it's an uphill battle when the vice-chancellor is dangling things like staff redundancies in front of people."

The university's chancellor, Emeritus Professor Tim Beaglehole, blamed the fee rise on the lack of government funding.

He said the council took the decision to increase fees with "great reluctance".

"It was necessary to look to the longer term future of Victoria University against an ever-increasing demand for quality and a decline in the number of students enrolling," he said in a statement.

Despite the "rowdy protests", he said the council was pleased to have the public present during the meeting to set the fees - the first time the process has been open to the public since 2003.

- NZPA