Universities NZ says free fees is grossly inequitable

The Herald reports:

University of Auckland vice-chancellor Stuart McCutcheon wrote to Hipkins in December, in his capacity as chair of Universities NZ, the body that represents all eight universities, to warn of “a most unfortunate and no doubt unintended anomaly” of the fees-free policy.

Foundation courses are designed to help disadvantaged students, including Māori and Pacific New Zealanders, into degree programmes, and as such had much lower fees, McCutcheon wrote.

 

“Students who take a university foundation course will enjoy a fees remittance of as little as $700 in their first year of tertiary study … by contrast, those entering directly into degree programmes will enjoy the benefit of up to $12,000 in remitted fees.

“We believe that this outcome is grossly inequitable

Labour’s free fees policy is a huge transfer of wealth to those who will be the wealthiest in society. A graduate has lifetime earnings of $1.6 million more than non graduates. And as McCutcheon points out the vast bulk of Labour’s spending will go on the future uber wealthy instead of those who are disadvantaged.