A tertiary support package is on the way for students impacted by Covid-19, increasing course-related cost loans and ensuring loan payments continue for students who are unable to continue study online during the lockdown.
However, it has been met with criticism of furthering student loan debt.
The course-related cost loan limit will be increased from $1000 to $2000 temporarily. Changes will also be made to give some students partial fee refunds due to discontinued courses and to ensure the Fees Free tertiary entitlement for students unable to complete their course this year is not impacted.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she did "not want to see students unfairly disadvantaged from discontinued courses" during the pandemic.
The cost of the package is $35 million in operating funding and $98 million in capital expenditure.
Finance Minister Grant Robertson said it counted "as capital within our accounts because we will get it back eventually".
Education Minister Chris Hipkins said the virus was causing students to face "additional personal costs associated with study in a different way while having fewer opportunities to work to support their study".
Green Party's Chlöe Swarbrick wrote on Twitter shortly after the announcement, "Student debt is at $16 billion. Students are almost all renters. Many pile on precarious work in the gig economy to survive, which they have now also lost. Students, desperate, are dropping out of courses to access jobseeker support. This is not how you build a future."
National's Chris Bishop wrote, "very exciting that students can now borrow $1000 more for course related costs for courses that aren’t happening".
Ms Ardern told media that students who had lost work "remember the wage subsidy is there for them and it should be passed on to that group".
"This is not the only form of support students who may have lost work should be able to access, the other point is they are also able to access support through the Ministry of Social Development hardship and my understand they have been doing that."
Support payments for students who cannot study on-line up to eight weeks will also be continued.
"Today’s package means students who cannot access their courses on-line will continue to receive their student loan payments as normal throughout the four-week lockdown period, and for up to four weeks afterwards," Mr Hipkins said.
"We are also working on a second package of changes to prepare the system for significant growth in participation in key strategic areas as greater numbers of New Zealanders are expected to look to retrain and some industries need bigger workforces."
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