This Wednesday, 27 July, the Overseas Students Admissions Committee is holding its annual meeting in Wellington. It will be the first opportunity all the universities and NZUSA have had, since the Government cut the numbers of private overseas students allowed into NZ, for us to discuss the disastrous effects of this policy.

The Effects of the Cutback

Figures produced by OSAC show that the Government talked absolute nonsense when it said that the cutback in Malaysian students had been introduced to bring more overseas students into NZ universities from other countries.

The fact is that the numbers of students from countries other than Malaysia increased by only four this year and that private students from Malaysia made up nearly 72% of the overall intake.

And despite its professions of concern about giving greater aid to the Pacific, the numbers of Fijian students (by far [he biggest group from the Pacific) increased by only one this year.

Unfilled Quotas at Universities

Some people have claimed that the cutback in overseas students is necessary because the universities can't afford to provide places for these students.

The universities themselves have given the lie to those claims. Despite the fact that they do face greater financial difficulties, the universities offered nearly as many places for overseas students for 1977 as they did for 1976.

But barely more than 50% of the places offered by the universities were filled because of the cutback by the Government in the numbers of Malaysians allowed into the country. This means that qualified students who wanted the opportunity to start a university education in NZ have been denied that chance by our Government and the universities have been denied the chance to help them.

Lack of Consultation with the Universities

Since the National Overseas Student Action Committee of NZUSA published the last "Cutbacks Special", the Secretary of the Overseas Students Admissions Committee (Mr Peter Morris) has written a number of letters to the newspapers claiming that NZUSA says that OSAC and the universities have the power to decide how many overseas students should be allowed into New Zealand.

His statements are quite misleading, NZUSA has never claimed that the universities or OSAC have those powers regardless of the Government's immigration policy. What we have said and repeat saying is that the Government should have consulted the universities before it decided to impose a cutback in overseas student numbers.

The fact is that the Government never consulted the universities. It never asked them if they were having trouble finding places for overseas students. It never requested their opinions about this valuable form of overseas aid which they play such an important role in providing.

NZUSA believes that the universities should have been consulted. Even the Minister of Immigration (Mr Gill) admitted in Parliament last year that consultation with the universities had not been "as good or as effective as it should have been."

In view of all these things NZUSA believes that the Government's policy must be reviewed and changed. At the OSAC meeting next Wednesday I will be asking the universities' representatives to support NZUSA in asking for that to be done. NZUSA needs your support too. By taking part in the action on your campus before the OSAC meeting you can give us that support. We hope also that you will be able to support us in future action that will be taken on this issue.