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Salient. Official Newspaper of the Victoria University Students' Association. Vol 41 No. 8. April 17 1978
The Hidden Problems
The Hidden Problems
Quite apart from the low level of Bursaries, Tech and Varsity students are very concerned about the many serious anomalies that both reduce the availability of Bursaries to students and also lower their value. These anomalies cause great hardship for a large number of students and, as well, stop other people even considering going to Polytech or Varsity because of the expense involved.
Abatement
The major anomaly in the Bursaries system is the 'abatement'—which reduces a student's allowance by $11 a week if he or she does not have to live away from home to attend Tech or Varsity.
- There is no age limit on the abatement, unlike the the unemployment benefit which pays a higher allowance to people over twenty.
- Married students receive abated bursaries on the grounds that they are living "at home". The exception is that two full time students, married or married de-facto to each other, get the full bursary.
- But students who are separated, divorced or widowed are not so lucky. They are treated as though married and get abated bursaries.
- Orphans are abated when they reach the age of majority. While a minor the orphan gets the unabated bursary, unless his or her guardians live in the town where he or she is studying. But once the orphan reaches the age of majority, he or she is treated as independent and, having no home other than where he or she lives, is automatically abated.
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In some cases a student's home is so far away from from a tertiary institution that it is impracticable to expect the student to live at home.
If, for example, the distance between the home and and the institution exceeds 48 km; the home is situated more than 2.4 km from the nearest public transport; or the travelling time for a one way journey between the home and the institution exceeds 1½ hours; the student can live away from home and get the full bursary.
But these rules are arbitrary and it is just bad luck for those students who fall outside them.
- Students may attend a tertiary institution outside their home town and receive unabated bursaries if their chosen course of study or their major is not available in their home town.
The philosophy behind the abatement is out of tune with the realities of today's society. The only way to solve these problems is to abolish the abatement completely.
Other Anomalies
- Bursaries are only paid to students on full-time, full-year courses. Students on block courses (e.g. 8 or 12 weeks at a technical institute) and 'sandwich' courses (e.g. a period of study followed by practical work experience followed by more study) do not get the bursaries.
- Technical institute students doing full-year courses courses part-time are not eligible for fees bursaries. University students are with the exception of Ph.D. students who receive no assistance with fees and pay a total of $300 in fees over a three year period.
- Ph.D. students are not eligible for the standard tertiary bursary. Although two-thirds of them receive competitive scholarships, grants or wages, one third get nothing.
- Some students have to work as part of their courses and receive only bursaries. Examples are student nurses who have to work "on section" at hospitals as part of their technical institute courses, and social work students at Massey University who have to work on supervised field placements as part of their course.
- Students at technical institutes are paid their bursaries fortnightly by direct credit. University students are paid three times a year by cheque (four times a year at Victoria University). More frequent payments would help university students with budgeting.
- The Education Department is often placed in the position of being judge, jury and executioner in cases where students appeal against decisions on their entitlements to bursary assistance.
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).
Wellington Student
I am eligible for an STB as I have UE and Higher School Cert. However, during my first year of varsity my parents went overseas to live. I am not eligible for a boarding allowance because I cannot prove to the authorities that my parents are going to return to New Zealand, either in the near or distant future. As my parents are not in a position to give unconditional promise that they will be returning, I have been forced to apply for a boarding allowance on grounds of hardship. Although my case is confidential, it is a degrading process to have to prove how hard up you are.
I applied through the liaison office. They take a statement of your income and assets (in detail) and forward it to a committee which considers your case. The results come through fairly quickly, which is a good thing.
$15 is simply not enough when you are flatting and cannot rely on parents for loans and/or gifts. The bursary must be raised to a level which meets people's basic living needs.
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Dunedin Student
In 1975 I left varsity owning to severe psychological stress late in the year. On leaving, I was asked to refund my entire bursary for that year to ensure that I would get one when I re-enrolled. I could only repay a small amount of this as I had other outstanding debts, no money and no job.
I re-enroled in 1977 to do a full-time course and w was ineligible for any bursary assistance at all. As a result I had to borrow substantial sums of money from my parents to pay fees, buy books and stationary etc. All those judge sums one has to fork out at the beginnig of the year. I had to live off borrowed money until I could find a part-time job (difficult in this day and age, especially when you're a woman) waitressing for 20-plus hours a week, in poor conditions at below-award wages.
I was literally on the breadline—such things as meat and toilet paper were unheard-of luxuries. Pubs, movies, concerts—any such form of social life was above my means.
Working as well as a full-time course was a strain to say the least—at times I wanted to throw the whole lot in. I had no time for non-academic activity on campus which alienated me from people I had previously known through clubs and sports—varsity was for study and lectures—no joy at all to be there. As a direct consequence of the strain, which was particularly great near the end of the year, I failed one of my units. I'm positive it wouldn't have happened if my situation had been different.
This year I have a bursary (abated—$15 per week) and feel like I'm living in the lap of luxury. This is something of a fool's paradise however. Owing to difficulties in getting a job last summer I was unable to save very much money. To return this year, I was forced forced to borrow a further $500 from my mother and I have another part-time job, which is necessary to make ends meet. I now owe my parents $1500 which I can't see being paid back for some years.
This is something which I feel very bad about. I loathed asking them for money in the first place, feeling that as a twenty year old adult I should be financially independent. However the present bursary structure doesn't allow me or anyone else to relieve parents of the burden of giving financial support.
Auckland Student
The 1978 Auckland University School of Architecture Handbook states that "students should be prepared to spend about $300 during the year on draughting equipment, books, stationery, photographic expenses, site visits and incidental expenses".
The figure of $300 represents over 30% of the total of the Standard Tertiary Bursary paid annually to people forced to live away from home, and 55% of the total for those living at home, or choosing to live away from home;.
A typical 1st year Architecture student staying in a hostel at a minimum of $28 a week rent plus an additional $9.00 a week for fees and course costs has already (on absolutely) basic costs alone) incurred a weekly deficit of $11.00 on his/her STB of $26 a week. If clothing, occasional entertainment, etc., is added, the absolute inadequacy of the STB is shown.
High course costs are not isolated to Architecture students either. All professional courses, such as Engineering, Law and Medicine, face very high extra costs, even Arts students average between $100 and $200 per year in texts and stationery.
Students academic performance will suffer dramatically if the STB remains at a level where it cannot cater for basic living costs and essential study costs.
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