Hundreds of tertiary students facing serious hardship

Getting to graduation is not just a matter of studying hard for university students, it's also a case of financial survival, warn student groups. File photo / NZ Herald

Hundreds of Dunedin tertiary students are already living "day to day" and facing serious financial hardship, student leaders and student welfare organisers say.

The New Zealand Union of Students Associations (NZUSA) said yesterday (FRI) about 15 per cent of the New Zealand university student population were suffering "absolute financial distress".

NZUSA said that had been a key finding from a Baseline Report of the Graduate Longitudinal Study New Zealand, released this month.

That 15 per cent figure would amount to more than 3000 students if extrapolated to University of Otago's population of more than 20,000 full and part-time students.

The study conducted baseline sampling of nearly 9000 students in their final year across New Zealand's eight universities last year.

Otago University Students Association president Logan Edgar was unsure how many Otago students were affected, but said student financial problems were clearly an issue of "high concern".

Students faced many financial problems, including the "huge costs" of setting up flats at the start of the year, such as paying bond money and buying furniture, and OUSA was helping through students with financial problems through its Student Support Centre.

The centre had issued more than 80 food parcels so far this year.

Otago Polytechnic Students Association president Rebecca Hohaia said most Otago Polytechnic students were suffering some level of" financial stress" this year and some students were struggling to survive "day to day".

OPSA officials said a "huge" increase in demand for food vouchers had resulted in a doubling of the value of the vouchers, to $1800, issued this year, compared with the same time last year.

Ms Hohaia said about two-thirds of students were ineligible for allowances because of the parental means test, and said the Government should restore a universal student allowance.

Student leaders said the city's tertiary students also faced problems resulting from rising food and power costs, trouble finding part-time work, higher costs for students with children, as well as looming heating costs linked to the Dunedin winter.

Otago University student services director David Richardson said the university had no figures for the number of Otago students experiencing "severe financial hardship", but this was a "significant issue" for some students.

"The university is very concerned that some students suffer financial distress because, amongst other things, it can adversely affect their academic outcomes.

"To help meet students' needs in this respect we have contracted OUSA to provide services that include budgetary and other advice, and a food bank," Mr Richardson said.

The national graduate study was commissioned by Universities New Zealand, backed financially by the Tertiary Education Commission and undertaken by the National Centre for Lifecourse Research (NCLR), which is headquartered at Otago University and led by centre co-director Prof Richie Poulton.

The study found that as many as 1 in 6 students reported they did not have enough money for their basic accommodation, clothing and food requirements.

This "striking" finding reinforced what NZUSA had been saying about "widespread student poverty", and showed an overwhelming need for a rise in allowance rates, and an expansion of allowances to those excluded by parental means tests, NZUSA vice-president Arena Williams said.