Failure to help students ‘brutal’

Press, 23 January 1988, Page 3

Failure to help students ‘brutal’

PA Wellington The Government was being grossly negligent in failing to help hard-up tertiary students, said the Opposition’s spokesman on education, Dr Lockwood Smith.

He was commenting on the Government’s refusal to increase income support to students until a final decision had been reached on a unified youth allowance, as outlined in the pre-Christmas economic package.

“Thousands of students in universities, at , teachers’ colleges and polytechnics will have their studies severely compromised by the refusal of the Minister of Education, Mr Lange, and his associate, Mr Goff, to respond to their urgent plight,” Dr Smith said.

“I am simply amazed by the brutality of the Government in ignoring the pathetic levels of student support until another of their task forces reports back. “It is clear that Mr Lange’s fine words on education, and higher education in particular, were just pompous wind signifying nothing.” With inflation at 10 per cent, rents increasing significantly and a rise in GST mooted, it was plain that a frozen bursary level was inadequate. Dr Smith said the children of lower to middle income families would suffer most.

“The gross irony is that the very people that Mr Lange says he wants to help he further hinders. It is simply staggering ineptitude,” he said.