Action At Victoria

Press, Volume C, Issue 29682, 28 November 1961, Page 19

Action At Victoria

(New Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON, Nov. 27. The Victoria University Council today authorised the trebling of its tuition fees for next year, but not without criticising the Minister of Education (Mr Tennent) and the University Grants Committee for forcing its hand. While there was sympathy for the idea that the move might help improve academic standards, council members protested at the manner of the Ministerial announcement, and the lack of consultation with the universities. A motion on these lines was accepted from the Wellington City Council representative, Mr W. G. Morrison. The Council was particularly concerned with those students, not on bursaries, who were partly through a university course planned on the basis on the present scale of fees. A motion from the student representative, Mr A. T. Mitchell. asking the Government to give special concessions to such students was passed unanimously. Attempts to have the council recommend that the decision be deferred for a year were stopped when it was pointed out that this could mean a loss of up to £115.000 in revenue for the university next year. Suggestions that the Government might defer its decision were also blocked when it was said that the increased bursaries announced by the Government might also be affected. Dr. J. Williams. the university’s vice-chancellor, said that the total at the statements from the Minister and the University Grants Committee was that the Government virtually directed the universities to increase their •There is no argument about it. The Government says it will reduce the grant bv an amount equivalent to the trebling of fees,” he said. “There is no doubt that the responsibility for the increases rests not on the universities. but on the Government. acting on advice from the University Grants Committee. But we have no choice," he said. The announcement was abrupt, but 'he did not think that there would be any general falling-off in enrolments. he said. In fact, if the effect was what the Minister and the committee expected, it would mean that the serious students would become more serious, and prune off those who have been bad. said Dr. Williams. The enrolment might be reduced on the fringes, which might be all to the good.

The fees at present would be the cheapest in the Commonwealth. he said. Mr O. Conibear said he was concerned at the penalty to be paid by the students, some of whom might now have to find as much as £lOO to take a full-time course, and £6O to take a part-time course. Finance would become a determining factor, instead of ability, and it might force full-time students not on bursaries into part-time courses at a time when the university was trying to encourage the opposite, he said. Ultimately, there might be fewer graduates when there should be more. The Parry Commission on the universities had recommended no increase in fees before 1965. *T am surprised the Grants Committee so early in its history should recommend increases to such an extent, and at such short notice.” said Mr Conibear. “At the beginning of the quinquennium, the Government contracted to finance the universities on a certain basis, and changed the basis in the middle. There should have been some notice.” Professor D R. Richardson said he also did not like the method of introduction of new fees. The council, however, should remember that the fees had not changed since 1928.