Standard bursary unlikely this year

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33741, 14 January 1975, Page 12

Standard bursary unlikely this year

(By our education reporter)

Proposals to introduce a standard bursary for all tertiary students are unlikely to meet any success this year. This is because of the economic situation and because the bursary would be unacceptable to teachers’ college students.

Rates for the proposed scheme are based on the unemployment benefit, and would be paid only for the academic year.

Adult students would receive $26.85 a week, students under 20 would get $20.50, and married students with a dependent wife, $44.70. No bond would apply, nor would there be any payment of boarding bursaries as at present.

For all university and technical-institute students the scheme would give a marked increase on present bursary payments, but for teachers’ college students there would be a drop of as much as $BOO a year, and this is unacceptable to the Edu-

cational Institute, Which strongly opposes any reduction in teachers’ college allowances.

Teacher trainees, the Educational Institute argues, have committed themselves to specific training in a restricted field, and it would not be acceptable for them to be paid a subsistence bursary, as is allegedly proposed by the standardbursary scheme.

The New Zealand University Students’ Association, which represents about 30,000 full-time students, says that the Minister of Education (Mr Amos) has continually forestalled efforts to gain an interim increase in university bursaries since he told the association in October that the standard-bursary scheme

was unlikely to be introduced until 1976, “because of the current economic situation.” “DIFFICULT YEAR” Many university students would face a difficult year financially unless there were an interim increase, the education vice-president of the association (Ms S. Green) said yesterday. “In October, the association applied to the University Grants Committee for an interim increase in present bursaries. It is now January, and we are still waiting for the Minister of Education to make up his mind on our application,” she said. University students must strive for the Government to Crovide a cost-of-living ursary which at the minimum would be equivalent to the unemployment benefit, Ms Green said. The president of the University of Canterbury Students’ Association (Mr P. F. Dunne) said that unless urgent relief were provided this year, many students would face a financial situation which might debar many of them from full-time study.