Laybying our Future: The State of Student Hardship in New Zealand

report launch & panel disscusion  

While the primary focus of Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) is on children under 18 who are living below the poverty line, we know that childhood poverty can have an effect on educational outcomes in later life, and can impact upon those who strive to obtain higher qualifications. Some tertiary students are also parents of young children, so it is important to consider how a range of student groups can be disadvantaged by current policies. CPAG’s latest report “Laybying our future: The state of student hardship in New Zealand” is written by Master’s student Max Lin, and takes a look at the challenges faced by tertiary students today.

Students are increasingly living in financial distress. Tertiary students are facing higher costs of education not just in terms of debt, but also as an immediate barrier to completing their degrees. These financial barriers can also undermine their mental wellbeing and the quality of the education they receive. This student-led paper aims to dispel some ‘myths’ about being a tertiary student and looks at the stagnating levels of student support against rising costs of essential items such as accommodation and textbooks. In particular, student hardship is treated separately from student debt, in order to emphasise the need to provide adequate income support for students during their studies. In addition to the analysis, this report also includes a number of ‘case studies’ by tertiary students relating their experiences. The goal is not to provide the definitive solutions to all the issues confronting tertiary students in New Zealand, but to raise the profile of the issues around student welfare. The seriousness and urgency of the issue requires a greater focus on the political agenda.

Speakers 

Max Lin- Max Lin is the author of this report who has undertaken this project with the assistance of Child Poverty Action Group. He is currently a Masters of Arts student in Politics and International Relations. He has a strong background in student advocacy, having served in various roles in student groups at the University of Auckland.

Panelists

Sian Robertson- Sian Robertson is a student of linguistics and languages at University of Auckland. She writes for the Daily Blog and is also an organiser for the NZ Palestine Solidarity Network. Sian provides a student perspective on this panel.

Jenny Salesa MP - Jenny is the MP for Manukau East and Labour’s Association Education Spokesperson. Jenny has 20 years’ experience in policy, as a health specialist, as a funder and senior official in the Health and Education sectors.  Jenny was formerly the Principal Advisor Pacific at the Tertiary Education Commission.

Additional Speakers TBC