The cost of education

Written By: - Date published: 12:23 pm, January 28th, 2017 - 14 comments
Categories: education, national, schools, tertiary education, useless - Tags: , , , ,

The costs of education are ballooning. At school:

School costs: $40,000 for ‘free’ state education

Parents of a child born this year can expect to pay almost $40,000 for their education, after big rise in costs over the last 10 years.

It’s prompted critics to claim there’s “no such thing as a free education”.

The price of a child’s state education has risen by 15 per cent since 2007, figures released by the Australian Scholarships Group (ASG) Planning and Education Index today show.

And if you’re flush enough to send your child to a private school, you can now expect to pay 48 per cent more than parents a decade ago. …

Consequently:

Families go without food to cover school costs

Palmy Revolution spokesperson Jenny Hall said people had been asking the organisation for help with expenses including stationery, uniforms and school camps. The organisation had distributed hundreds of second-hand uniforms.

She told Nine to Noon some families had to do without so they could meet the costs of getting children back to school.

“What is the worst part for them is having to prioritise whether they can feed their families or whether they are feeding themselves because they know they’ve got these costs coming up,” she said.

“A lot of parents are sacrificing their own food, their own needs, not being able to run their car – just to cover the costs of getting back to school.”

Some families were facing bills of several thousand dollars for uniforms, fees and school camps, Ms Hall said. …

Meanwhile for tertiary students:

Student loan debt ‘balloons’ with average student owing $21,000 – Labour

Student loan debt has “ballooned” under National, Labour says, with the average student now $21,000 in the red. The comments came after a Government stocktake of the student loan scheme was released in an annual report for the 2016 year, showing costs have tracked up while participation has declined.

“National are saddling future generations with huge debt and it’s getting worse not better,” Hipkins said, accusing the Government of trying to “sneak these figures out”.

“Declining participation rates are really concerning. If we are to provide all New Zealanders with the opportunity to adapt to the changing needs of the economy and society, and to fulfil their own potential, we need to see participation in tertiary education increasing, not decreasing.” …

Costs up, debt up, participation down – brilliant.

I expect we’ll get some Kiwiblog trolls parroting Farrar, that a student loan is “The best investment ever”. Farrar cites figures to the effect that “average increase in earnings from having a degree is $1.6 million”. This is pure spin and he knows it. The benefit after subtracting the costs of fees and lost earnings the benefit is around $1 million over a lifetime. But that is for university degrees on average (there is a lot of variation). And according to a recent OECD report our non-university degrees and tertiary qualifications (“Type B”) are “the most worthless in the developed world” (see discussion and clarification of this report). In short, far too many tertiary students are being stuck with huge (and increasing) loans for qualifications with minimal return.

National needs to do something to address spiraling education costs in both the secondary and tertiary sectors.

14 comments on “The cost of education ”

  1. Siobhan 1

    Another aspect of this is the lower wage non home owners who are heading into their late forties and fifties just as the kids are heading to university.
    They find themselves using any ‘spare’ cash to help support their kids through university, rather than being able to use those years to save for retirement.
    I notice this issue comes up every now and then in interviews with ‘the struggling classes’, such as the interview with those effected by the 50 cent an hour wage increase this last week.

    Labour are offering a ‘free’ 3 years of study, which is great, and goes some way to mitigate their role in the whole debacle, but my understanding is that covers the down-the-road, student loan aspect, not the actual reality of students from poorer families struggling to cover the here and now living/studying costs of students.

  2. Philj 2

    Education, like most government ‘services’ has become an income generator, or business opportunity. Charter schools, educating overseas students, migration, roading, broadcasting (remember the Government sell off of SKY), prisons etc…

    • saveNZ 2.1

      +1 Philj – ditch the neoliberalism ideology!

      Education should be about the education only! Not trying to turn a profit or subsidise the government.

      Increasingly, wealth is societal wealth, having an educated population – not lowering educational standards so that they can have more profit from more students.

      We need to bring back trade skills like building and plumbing for those that are not academically minded and not make everyone try to be a lawyer or business graduate.

      We need to have a more creative economy – and people who are doing what they want to do, not what they think they can make the most money from! The future is about that, because technology is going to take a lot of jobs in the future and those it can’t replicate are actually creative ones! The opposite of government policy.

      Nowadays the governments make everyone take out a loan for some course that used to be a paid position with on the job training! If you are on WINZ that is the new scam, force them off by making them do a course that they don’t want to do and take out the student loan. That is why we have such ‘low’ unemployment, – unemployed are now students.

    • The Fairy Godmother 2.2

      +100. I think the tertiary sector is shocking for this now. When I was young before student loans some
      courses such as teaching ones were capped. They took the amount of trainees they needed, picking the best trainees and paid them well with student allowances. When my mother trained in the 50s you were expected to work out a bond period. She got hers reduced for country service. I think something like this would be great. Students aren’t saddled with loans for a course that doesn’t necessarily lead to a job and government and student money is not going to the education industry to train people for non-existent jobs.

    • Drowsy M. Kram 2.3

      Agree with your accurate assessment Philj (and saveNZ/TFG). The tertiary education sector has morphed rapidly from a public service into a competitive industry; universities compete for students and are financially penalised for low pass/completion rates. Any ‘commitment to quality’ is now more lip service that reality; the real commitment is to growing, or at least maintaining income in the face of falling domestic student enrolments.

  3. Draco T Bastard 3

    Costs up, debt up, participation down – brilliant.

    Working exactly as planned then.

  4. Whispering Kate 4

    The cost of educating children is just part of the entire education debacle.

    A starter teacher for primary age children is on $47,000 – a lot of young teachers are not returning to school this year and are embarking on new careers. The morale has gone out of their teaching career. They have no autonomy over their class of kids, cannot even spare 10 minutes in a day to teach them basic manners like please and thank you. Some kids are running ragged in the classrooms and cannot handle any sort of rebuke from the teacher, yelling and out of the control and not being able to handle discipline. There is no fun left in the classroom, no time for doing anything that is strictly not on the curriculum. One young woman 28 is not returning and has told one of my family that she knows of many others not returning as its not teaching, its now indoctrination of the syllabus and an obsession with scores for the department. She is at school at 7.30 in the morning and doesn’t leave until well after school has closed. I have no stats for what is happening but this woman was not bullshitting and my family member does not doubt her word as she knows her well.

    Doesn’t bode well for the future with a population of people not used to knowing what is right and wrong and not being to handle basic courtesy situations of every day life.

    • Lara 4.1

      I used to teach high school science.

      I will never teach again now, my practice certificate has expired and I have no desire to redo my 1 year post grad diploma.

      The main reason for stopping teaching was the disrespect shown by students. Who learned it from their parents. Parents with the attitude that teachers are teaching because they can’t do. That teaching is an easy option, with light hours and long holidays. That teachers don’t teach anything of use or value, and they’re incompetent.

      That and the crappy pay. I’m earning multiple times what I’d be earning as a teacher now. There’s no way I’ll take a massive pay cut for much longer hours and horrible working conditions.

      Still, I do miss the energy of teenagers and I did love my subject.

  5. Lloyd 5

    If we don’t educate our children who is going to take care of us in our old age? Only by having young, energetic, motivated young people with the ability to cope with a globally warming world will NZ have a chance of being able to keep the oldies in the lifestyle to which we have been accustomed. Graduates should have their debt repayments made by their employees. Government service should result in rapid repayment.
    Residence in NZ should also contribite to decreasing student debt, this would reduce brain drain.

    • Whispering Kate 5.1

      With the education they are getting at present Lloyd, the kids of today won’t give a damn about anybody let alone oldies. It will be a lawless couldn’t give a toss sort of a society. I see it every day, kids running amok in supermarkets and knocking people over etc. Of course I know that we as kids were not perfect but we did know our P’s and Q’s and basic common courtesy. I gave my parents a terrible time for a while there but I never ever treated my teachers with cheek and out of control behaviour. I like the idea that kids have to grow up and learn life’s lessons but not at the expense of treating their educators with no respect. The Government doesn’t have a clue what it is like at the coal face. Parents today also will be in for a hell of a ride when their kids are adolescents – they have my sympathy believe me.

  6. Incognito 6

    I think this is quite telling:

    MoE sector enablement and support head Katrina Casey said home education had not been inflation-adjusted or changed since it was introduced in 1990 because it was not intended to cover all the costs of home education.

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/news/88741254/home-schooling-has-doubled-in-cost-some-south-canterbury-home-educators-say
    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/88591034/lack-of-funding-makes-home-schooling-unrealistic-for-some-families-home-educators-say

  7. greg 7

    national aren’t going to do anything this is there ninth year the great promise of the brighter future has not been delivered its turned to a blighted future .

    housing bubble
    homelessness up
    household debt sky rocketing
    now education cost out of control/worthless qualifications and record student debt
    farmers trashing the water ways
    plus all those kiwis who were sucked in with low interest rates are going to loose everything

    thanks national thanks john key

  8. Kelly-Ned 8

    They have done something about the spiralling costs of education – they’ve frozen bulk grants for all public schools!! That saves them heaps.

  9. Observer Tokoroa 9

    The Way Ahead

    . Trump, Corbyn, Bernie Sanders, Little, Peters, Greens -do have quite a lot in common. They are concerned that wealth is going massively to too few.

    . They are concerned that millions of manufacturing jobs are being unnecessarily undertaken by low cost Asia at the request of domestic Corporations.

    . They are against untrammeled immigration which unevenly threatens earning power of citizens.

    . En Masse, people cling to the Right because the Right has access to the very wealthy Corporations and very wealthy Individuals. The Left languishes miserably because it has access to less and less.

    . In time the Right will have enslaved the Common Man so thoroughly that they will lose not only their wealthy glamour but their possessions and their heads.

    For the Planet does not belong to the wealthy.

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • EV road user charges bill passes
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April.  “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Bill targets illegal, unregulated fishing in international waters
    New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Reserve Bank appointments
    Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates.  Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Stronger protections for apartment owners
    Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Travel focused on traditional partners and Middle East
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend.    “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says.   Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Keep safe on our roads this Easter
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Cost of living support for over 1.4 million Kiwis
    About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Tenancy reviews for social housing restart
    Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary plan halted
    The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Cutting all that dam red tape
    Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track.  “Dam safety regulations ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Drought support extended to parts of North Island
    The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Passage of major tax bill welcomed
    The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis.  “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Lifting economy through science, tertiary sectors
    Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government announces Budget priorities
    The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says.  The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government to consider accommodation solution
    The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government approves extension to Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care
    Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says.                                         “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • $18m boost for Kiwis travelling to health treatment
    The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says.   “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • PM’s Prizes for Space to showcase sector’s talent
    The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Concerns conveyed to China over cyber activity
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government.     “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry
    Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function.  The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Brynderwyns open for Easter
    State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech to the Infrastructure Funding & Financing Conference
    Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Parliamentary network breached by the PRC
    New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • NZ to provide support for Solomon Islands election
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • NZ-EU FTA gains Royal Assent for 1 May entry to force
    The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union.    “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • COVID-19 inquiry attracts 11,000 submissions
    Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says.  “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Families to receive up to $75 a week help with ECE fees
    Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Unlocking a sustainable, low-emissions future
    A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says.  “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Chief of Army thanked for his service
    Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders
    25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Government commits nearly $3 million for period products in schools
    Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech – Making it easier to build.
    Good morning, it’s great to be here.   First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning.  I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Pacific youth to shine from boost to Polyfest
    Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • 2024 Ngarimu VC and 28th (Māori) Battalion Memorial Scholarships announced
    ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Speech to Breast Cancer Foundation – Insights Conference
    Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Kiwi research soars to International Space Station
    New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Speech to the New Zealand Planning Institute
    Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Support for Northland emergency response centre
    The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed.  “Northland has faced a number ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Celebrating 20 years of Whakaata Māori
    New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Some commercial fishery catch limits increased
    Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-03-29T10:20:46+00:00