Chlöe Swarbrick says students need more support. Photo / Alex Burton
Chlöe Swarbrick says students need more support. Photo / Alex Burton
Tears, frustration and anxiety, university accommodation providers have been slammed by students for their "greed" at a select committee today.
The parliamentary select committee started an inquiry after a string of issues surrounding the handling of fees during Covid-19 and the death of Christchurch student Mason Pendrous who lay dead in his hall for two to four weeks in 2019.
Pendrous was found dead by a staff member in his room in the Hinoki building of the University of Canterbury's Sonoda Campus in Ilam.
Victoria University of Wellington student and Rent Strike spokeswoman Azaria Howell told MPs before the first Covid-19 lockdown was called students were "kicked out" of their university accommodation and only had days to get home by.
Using a packet of two-minute-noodles to illustrate her point, she said students were already struggling with the essentials and were then expected to buy emergency flights home.
"They're motivated by greed, they're motivated by money. They don't care about student wellbeing at all."
She told the committee something needed to be done, as students' issues were being put to the side due to focus on profits.
However, this isn't the case with all halls of residence and Christchurch's Rochester and Rutherford Hall former principal Stephen Kissick said all his students' fees were waived during lockdown.
That hall does not operate for profit and he said they had weekly meetings with the student executive.
Auckland University of Technology vice-chancellor Derek McCormack said the university's students were never told they had to leave over the first lockdown last year, and the students who did decide to stay had meals, supervision and support.
He said they were "flying blind" last year, but they did provide students a rebate which amounted to 50 per cent.
The select committee is looking into whether more regulation into student accommodation is needed.
While there were clear rules for rentals, the same does not apply for student accommodation.
Chlöe Swarbrick says students need more support. Photo / Alex Burton
Pressure on young, and at times minimally trained Residential Assistants (RAs) was also discussed at the committee, with one submitter stating at her hall, there was no RA on her floor and the person tasked with supporting her she barely knew.
A different student said her RA was about the same age as her, and the amount of stress she was under going into lockdown triggered anxiety attacks.
McCormack said their ratios were around one RA to 50 residents, but he wasn't sure what training they get except for first aid and the hotel rules.
He said student accommodation needs to be variable as the needs of students are variable, and he doesn't think you can guarantee a positive experience for everybody.
Rochester and Rutherford also had a ratio of 1 to 31 and were all fourth or fifth years.
A lack of cultural awareness and specific support for international students was also highlighted as a key area of concern.
Victoria University Post Graduate Students Association president Miniruwani Samarakoon said there were established procedures on helping international students understand life in Aotearoa at universities, but she said this is not passed on to accommodation providers.
Samarakoon said certain principles like "confidentiality and non-racism" need to be expressed as some students come from places sometimes where they aren't used to reading "between the lines".
Green Party Tertiary Education spokeswoman Chloe Swarbrick said the submissions heard today were only fraction of what she is hearing on the ground.
Swarbrick echoed concerns about RAs, and said they were also dealing with their own personal issues and studies.
"[They] are overworked, underpaid, and not suitably trained students tasked with supporting their fellow students, oftentimes with mental distress.
It's not all bad for the sector, with multiple submissions praising halls at the University of Waikato.
Maynard Scott spent five years at the halls of residents there, two as a resident and three as an RA, and said he felt compelled to share his experience as he had a "thoroughly" good time there.
Scott's halls were not privately operated and the ratio was about one RA to 30 students and he said RAs were given three weeks' training.
Another person who spoke of a positive experience in the halls also was a resident at the student accommodation in Waikato.
Victoria University of Wellington has been approached for comment.
