Student unions condemn the disbandment of Fees Free Scheme

NEWS | ISSUE SIX | MAHI Ā-RINGA / CRAFT

Written by Liam Hansen (they/them) | @liamhanse.n | Associate Editor

Friday, 8 May saw finance minister Nicola Willis announce they would abandon the Fees Free Scheme by way of Winston Peters, roughly eight years after its introduction in the first year of the Ardern government. 

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon claims that the scheme didn’t meet its goals, reflecting reports in 2023 that the rates of students at decile 1-6 schools enrolling in university had shrunk throughout the years, while uptake from high decile school students had risen. 

Luxon shared the government's intentions to redirect the funding towards trade training, unintentionally reflecting the external factors that indirectly affected university intake - namely, the economic fallout of the pandemic, leading more young people to begin working early to support their families, while students better-off were able to continue their studies with the benefit of the fees free scheme throughout Covid. 

With students already leaving Aotearoa in droves for higher pay in Australia and mounting unemployment, the loss of the scheme has removed further incentive to study for students, with eligibility concluding this year creating the last generation of students who were able to test out uni life in their first year, or powered through their third through the Government's initial restructure seeing the final year of undergrad study fees being waived. 

To be clear, there are still tens of thousands of students graduating each year. Students who enrolled in 2024, when the change from first-to-third year was announced, will be the last cohort to receive their last year free. 

The majority of student associations in Aotearoa produced a joint statement condemning the decision and calling for a reversal on 11 May. Published on the VUWSA website and signed by AUTSA, representatives state, “New Zealand’s skills pipeline depends on a coherent tertiary system that values vocational education and training alongside university and postgraduate pathways. The Government should not present this as an either/or proposition. A credible approach would strengthen access across the system, rather than withdrawing support from one pathway in order to fund another.”

“Education should be an investment in New Zealand’s future, not a privilege reserved for those who can absorb increasing debt,” says AUTSA president James Portegys. “Students are studying to become our future nurses, teachers, engineers, business leaders, and public servants. Making education less accessible weakens New Zealand’s long-term economic and social future.”