The Facts

• The $1,500 discriminatory fee on overseas students breaches the Human Rights Commission Act 1977, both in principle and detail.
• The $1,500 discriminatory fee has not only reduced the number of private overseas students (from 743 in 1976 to 284 in 1980) but has also caused considerable hardship for the students and their families.
• The $1,500 fee makes income rather than academic performance as the criterion for overseas students to enter New Zealand universities.
• The discriminatory fee on overseas students was used as a precedent for increasing fees of New Zealand students. It was in fact a thinly disguised 'divide and rule' tactic against New Zealand students.
• Rumours exist, and it was reported by Radio New Zealand, that the fees for overseas students will be increased to $2,500.