When the Labour Party was elected in 1972 it promised that 'a standard bursary system will be developed for all students in continuing education institutions to provide adequate living allowances, taking into account the length and cost of particular courses. The special needs of married students will be recognised. Assistance will be extended to encourage part-time students who do not receive sufficient benefits from the present bursary system.'

Since the Labour Government took office, tertiary students have been waiting for the government to take concrete steps to introduce this policy which would mean a radical, change in the nature of students' bursaries.

The standard tertiary bursary would not mean that students would get a living wage. What it would mean is that students would get a realistic level of assistance during the academic year and that students' bursaries would increase with increases in the cost of living.

One suggestion has been that the standard tertiary bursary would give a similar allowance to the present unemployment benefit. So if this suggestion is adopted students over 20 would get around $28 a week during the academic year.

The present bursary system has been haphazardly developed over the years, new parts being added to it as the need has arisen. It does not treat all students fairly. For example, it does not provide anything near an adequate level of support for technical institute students, while a number of university students are rewarded because they have been successful in passing competitive exams, like the University Scholarship examinations.

Discussions between NZUSA, NZTISA and STANZ, and the Department of Education on the new bursary system have been going on for some time. We have received some proposals from the Department about the structure of the new bursary system.

This pamphlet outlines a draft proposal for the standard tertiary bursary. It is being circulated on all campuses to encourage student discussion and debate on the new bursary. It does not represent your student association's final views on the new bursary system.

We would like your ideas, suggestions and criticisms so that when we negotiate the details of the new bursary system with the government, we can fight to get the best possible deal for students.

Wellington students marching on Parliament. Amos' inaction has made students take up direct action

1. Who is eligible?

Initially the standard tertiary bursary should be paid to all full-time unbonded tertiary students who are eligible for admission to a tertiary institution. Sixth form leavers going straight to university would receive a level of assistance comparable to a secondary school boarding bursary plus assistance with fees and books. However sixth form leavers who go to university after a year in employment should be eligible for the standard tertiary bursary. Tuition fees should be paid for all students.

The bursary would be paid from the date of enrolment until the end of examinations in the case of technical institute and university students. In the case of student teachers the bursary should be paid throughout the year.

A university student would lose his or her bursary if he or she did not pass a minimum of two units or 24 credits a year. However in the case of university students who have been at university for two or more years, their whole academic record should be taken into account. A university student's bursary would be reinstated after passing a minimum of two units or 24 credits.

2. What sort of bursary?

The standard tertiary bursary would be a cost of living related bursary which would be tied to general wage orders, providing that representatives of the national student organisations concerned would have the right to negotiate with the appropriate government agency on increases if they so desired.

The present unemployment benefit has been suggested as a possible basis for the standard tertiary bursary. At present levels of payment for people over 20 on the unemployment benefit receive about $28 a week, while a married person with a dependent wife receives about $46 a week. However, the actual level of bursary paid should be the subject of negotiations between the three national student organisations and the Department of Education. Under the present bursary system the older a student is, the more money he or she receives. Should this practice continue under the new bursary system?

3. Extra allowances for costly courses

Additional allowances to cover consumable materials, travel, etc. for costly courses should be paid to the teaching institution concerned. Some of the areas these additional allowances would cover include field trips at Lincoln College, Fine Arts courses at Canterbury and Auckland universities, forestry courses at Canterbury university, veterinary courses at Massey University, dentistry courses at Otago University, field trips for student teachers, etc.

4. What happens to the Boarding Allowances?

Separate boarding allowances would not be paid under the standard tertiary bursary. Students' accommodation costs [unclear: ould] be included in the standard tertiary bursary. There is also an urgent need for greater government assistance in the provision of student accommodation.

5. What happens to bonded students?

At present student teachers receive allowances which are generally much higher than those paid to university or technical institute students. Student teachers receive these higher allowances because they bond themselves to work for the Education Department for a certain period as teachers, and they undertake to repay part of their allowances if they default on their bond obligations

STANZ, NZUSA and NZTISA will strongly resist any attempts to introduce the standard tertiary bursary on the cheap by lowering the pay of student teachers or worsening their conditions of employment.

The standard tertiary bursary should be introduced at first to cover all tertiary students except student teachers. Negotiations between the three national student organisations and the Department of Education would be held immediately to work out means of introducing the standard tertiary bursary to cover student teachers.

STANZ, NZUSA and NZTISA believe that the cost of training people for a profession (such as leaching) should be borne by the employer or employing authority which receives the benefit of this professional training, not be the individuals undertaking the training. The same principle should apply to those undertaking apprenticeships or trade training. The present system of training teachers by forcing them to bond themselves to the state is thoroughly inadequate.

It is a generally accepted principle that the older an more experienced a student is when he or she enters college, the belter a teacher he or she will become. Provision must be made for attracting people to the page break teaching profession by ensuring that they enjoy adequate remuneration during their training to meet their family and financial commitments.

However one group of bonded students who would definitely benefit from the introduction of the standard tertiary bursary are those on Health Department bonded bursaries such as physiotherapy students, occupational therapy students and nursing students studying at technical institutes.

These students' allowances range from $430 in the first year, to S475 in their second year, to $520 in their third year plus a boarding allowance of $480 if they are eligible. In exchange for these bursaries these students are bonded for two years. Once during their course they have to work unpaid in a hospital during their long vacation, usually between their second and third years of study. There is no guarantee of work once they have finished their training.

Not all of these students Can get Health Department bursaries, NZTISA, NZUSA and STANZ believe that it is essential that these students should be included in the standard bursary system as soon as it is introduced.

6. Special Provision for married students

Whatever level of bursary allowance is negotiated, there must be provision for the needs of married students, i.e. a student who is married with a dependent spouse and possibly a family. Such provision should also apply to a student who is living in a de facto relationship, although two students who are married or who are living in a de facto relationship should both receive the allowance for a single student.

Consideration must also be given to the position of people who are older than most students, who have a dependent spouse and family, and who have financial commitments (e.g. purchase of a home).

7. Special allowances for female students

It is understood that the present hardship allowances which exist under the bursary regulations will continue under the new standard tertiary bursary system. These allowances should be extended to cover female students who are disadvantaged because of a lack of vacation employment opportunities or because of discriminatory rates of wages.

8. What happens to part-time students?

It is recognised that some part-time students have particular needs and NZUSA, NZTISA and STANZ would not be prepared to see their needs neglected. After there has been an investigation into the needs of part-time students, special negotiations would take place to determine the position of part-time students in a standard bursary system.

9. How much would the standard bursary cost and who should pay for it?

It is difficult to estimate the total cost of introducing the new bursary system. One private news agency in Wellington has estimated the cost at around $17 million on top of the costs of the present bursary system. This figure is close to independent estimates made by NZUSA.

Some people have argued that the government could finance the introduction of the new bursary system in part by taxing corporations and professional firms which benefit directly from tertiary education.

10. Who negotiates?

This draft proposal does not put forward ways of dealing with the problems of part-time students, the position of student teachers, the actual level of bursary paid, etc.

Some of these matters will require lengthy negotiations and the government should establish a committee comprising equal numbers of representatives of the three national student organisations on the one hand, chaired by an independent person who is acceptable to all sides. This would be a permanent committee which would meet regularly to work out solutions to areas not covered by the standard tertiary bursary and to any anomalies that may arise. Its operations would be funded by the government, it would have wide powers to consult interested parties (e.g. the universities and the teachers' organisations) and it would make its recommendations directly to the Minister of Education.

If we're going to get the standard tertiary bursary this year, every tertiary student will have to think about it, talk about it to others and take part in some form of collective action.

This proposal has been put forward for the purpose of discussion by the national offices of the New Zealand University Students' Association, P O Box 6368, Te Aro, Wellington; the Student Teachers' Association of New Zealand, P O Box 9172, Courtenay Place, Wellington; and the New Zealand Technical Institute Students' Association, P O Box 6116, Auckland.

3,000 students from the Polytech, University and Teachers College descended on Parliament in a remarkable display of unity.

The march heads down through downtown Wellington.