Desirable Size

Out of the 5411 students enrolled intra-murally at Vic 1603 are women. The marriage-rate for urban women under 30 (which is the age-group most prevalent at university) is 55%, which would indicate that 882 women students could be married. If we take these 882 women as a statistically valid sample of the total population of married urban women 69% of them or 608 would have preschool children. Because the mother-child-ratio at the creche is 1,2 we come at a total of 729 children.

Dr. Geiringer in a talk given at the recent population conference at university pointed out that only half of all children born in Wellington hospital were likely to be planned. Now women-students probably do not deliberately plan children as they know this would interfere with the whole point of going to university, which obviously is to study and get a degree. So if we roughly translate this in Vic terms there may be 364 children involved in decisions made by students to continue their studies or drop out or to restrict oneself to part-time study. This of course docs not clarify the position of students who want to keep their illegitimate children and does not answer any moral niceties as to whether students ought to live in celibacy.

That the Student Welfare has never made any attempt at an estimate of a desirable size of the creche is understandable. The philosophy behind government welfare policy is to provide services where the need is demonstrated clearly. It is up to political, social and charitable organisations such as the Students' Association to give evidence of the need and press for improvement and establishment of facilities.