The Hipkins free fees disaster

The Herald summarises the impact of Hipkins’ expensive first year free fees policy:

The Herald last year reported the number of decile 1 students in first-year tertiary study has halved since the policy started, with students from wealthier backgrounds making up an increasingly greater share.

Government data shows bachelors-level students made up two-thirds of fees-free enrolments. Most were aged 18 to 19 years. And most were European.

And the “parity gap” has increased, according to a summary on educational performance indicators, as the qualification completion rate fell for Māori and Pacific peoples in 2022.

He spent over a billion dollars, with the result being fewer students from poor areas attending tertiary education, and lower qualification completion rates.