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Salient. Official Newspaper of the Victoria University Students' Association. Vol 41 No. 8. April 17 1978

Costly Courses

Costly Courses

Some students take courses which are far mor expensive than normal. Although the actual government Bursary regulations don't themselves cause problems for students in these cases, the fact is that this additional financial burden (with little or no aid from the government) causes many students even greater hardship than normal. These extra costs are for expensive course materials and books, or for travel on 'field trips' or work 'on section' in hospitals.

a). Technical Institutes

Student nurses have to travel from the Institutes to work at hospitals. This is a compulsory requirement of their courses. They also have to provide their own protective clothing for clinical work, unlike Hospital Board Student Nurses.

A survey at Auckland Technical Institute last year found that it would cost $60,000 to pay public transport fares (and taxis after 11 p.m. and before 7 a.m.) for the travel costs at that institute alone.

Yet the Government has provided this year only $85,000 to reimburse students on 10 paramedical courses and 15 design courses for the extra costs they face. Welcome though this money is, it will simply not cover more than a fraction of the costs involved. Design students face particularly heavy expenses for materials which are an essential part of their courses. They can pay up to $500 per annum for these materials.

b). Agricultural Courses

Many students at Lincoln College and Massey University have to undertake compulsory field trips as part of their courses. These trips involve students in expensive travel and accommodation costs.

In 1975 the Government agreed to subsidise student Field Trips. Lincoln College recieved $30,000 to subsidise its Field Trips in 1976 and 32,000 in 1977.

But increases in Field Trip costs have reduced the value of the subsidy to Lincoln students to 36% in 1977 (from 51% in 1976), and even lower this year.

This year students on some courses at Lincoln will pay $215 for a compulsory Field Trip—this will take up more than eight weeks of their Bursary allowances (if they are on the unabated rate) or over 14 weeks (if they are on the abated rate).