The fees-free policy is another government failure:
The Government has reallocated almost $200 million from the fees-free policy as part of Finance Minister Grant Robertson’s push to cull $1 billion of low-priority spending.
The money was cut as the enrolments were not as high as the Government was expecting. . .
The admission it’s low-quality spending shows it was a policy that ought to have never made it pass the is-this-sensible test.
Universal fee-free tertiary education is neither necessary nor wise.
Nor, when there are so many other priorities, is it affordable.
Would you rather:
- put more into helping children who don’t have the necessary pre-learning skills when they get to school?
- put more into special education?
- put more into helping children who are failing at primary and secondary school?
- put resources into improving pay and conditions for teachers?
- put more into writing off student loans for graduates who work in hard-to-staff occupations and areas?
Or pay 100% of tertiary fees for first year students many of whom don’t need the help and some of whom will fail?
The fee-free policy joins KiwiBuild and the provincial slush fund as a poorly thought-out and poorly targeted fail.
