Student poverty is a long-term problem, and it needs a long-term solution, says OUSA president Quintin Jane.
That’s why, alongside the Victoria University of Wellington Students’ Association, the OUSA are reigniting the campaign for a universal student allowance- renaming it the ‘study wage for all’.
Quintin says that the key aim is for the government to provide a universal student allowance of roughly $385 a week to all tertiary students in the country, regardless of age, study type, or any other form of qualifier.
“It sounds far-fetched, but it is very similar proportionately to what most of our current politicians received up until the early 1990s- and they didn’t have to pay fees.
“What we are asking for is support for the next generation of leaders. We want people from a diverse range of backgrounds to be able to study at university without barriers.”
These barriers to access including building up huge debt, juggling study and part-time work, regularly not having enough money to cover necessities and unsafe renting conditions.
Quintin says that giving students more financial freedom would help with a multitude of other issues, including the huge issue of student properties which are unsafe to live in.
“Giving students some power in the renting arena would hopefully push slum landlords into making their rental properties habitable- because students wouldn’t have to just find the cheapest possible place.”
The Study Wage for All website says that learning is an inherently valuable contribution- not just to the individual but to their community, their whānau and also to wider society.
“More critically thinking, diverse citizens prepared for a world facing increasingly complex and existential challenges [is a collective benefit for Aotearoa].”
A study wage for all would also help to foster increased social mobility, and break cycles of intergenerational poverty which will help more people in the long term, says Quintin.
Student poverty has been normalised, but it doesn’t have to be like this.
To submit your story or sign the petition see here.
Kōrero by internal communications adviser Alice Billington