Govt change may negate student loans

Press, 5 April 1989, Page 8

Govt change may negate student loans

PA Wellington Banks will be unlikely to get involved- in a student loans scheme if it will be scrapped after one year by a National Government, said the University Students’ Association yesterday. The association was commenting on the release of a National Party leaflet which said the parly would repeal the loans scheme, if it became the Government in 1990. “The trading banks will be making an assessment of how long any loans scheme will last and if they conclude that the National Party has a chance of winning the next election and that the party’s promise will be kept, they will see that the scheme might run for only one year,” said the president of the association, Mr Andrew Little. Students are expected

to influence next year’s election in a number of seats in university cities.

“Setting up the loans scheme could be quite costly in marketing, product development and administration costs and the banks may consider it unwise to get involved for only one year,” Mr Little said. He said even though negotiations between the Government and the banks were due to begin next week, it should be remembered similar negotiations in Britain had been going for eleven months without resolution.

Also, in The Netherlands the Government found it difficult to negotiate a guaranteed student loans scheme with banks. Mr Little said students were committed to stopping the introduction of higher tertiary education fees and the loans scheme which went with the fees.