Students get some relief on allowances

By REBECCA WALSH

Thousands more students will be eligible for allowances next year but the Government has offered no concessions on student loans.

Student associations have welcomed increases to the parental income threshold for student allowances, which will benefit more than 36,000 students, but say the system remains unfair.

They are disappointed to find no changes to the loan scheme and are unhappy that some students, including married students under 25, could lose their allowances because they will be subject to parental income testing.

Associate Education Minister Steve Maharey said the Government would spend $110 million on a package for students. Increasing the lower and upper parental income thresholds meant nearly 12,000 more students would receive a full allowance and another 28,000 students would get a partial allowance.

The lower parent income threshold would increase from $28,080 to $33,696 and the upper threshold from $50,572 to $62,148. The thresholds would be adjusted each year in line with inflation.

Mr Maharey said the aim was to "ensure more students from low- to moderate-income families are eligible for student allowances".

New Zealand University Students Association president Fleur Fitzsimons said it was good news that more students would be eligible for allowances but the association still wanted a commitment to a living allowance for all students.

The Budget did little to address concerns about student fees and student debt, which had reached $7 billion, she said.

Auckland University student Chris Currie, who is in his final year of a bachelor of science degree, said the Budget offered him nothing. The 25-year-old has a $25,000 student loan and had hoped students in Auckland would get more money for accommodation. With the prospect of entering the workforce he was also keen to see changes to "crippling" interest rates.

"It will be very difficult to make a dent in my student loan. I will be barely keeping up with the interest."

Another 7000 students could find that changes to bring the student allowance regulations in line with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act affect their entitlement.

Next year divorced, single students will need to show exceptional circumstances when applying for an independent circumstances grant and married students under 25 with no dependants will be subject to a parental income test.

* Meanwhile, an extra $347 million will be spent on school and early childhood education property.

Noeline Goldie, principal of Fruitvale School in West Auckland, hopes the school, which featured in the Herald last week after the board wrote an open letter to Education Minister Trevor Mallard begging for more money to help with day-to-day costs, will benefit from some of the cash.