Students’ money struggles
A third of tertiary students in an Auckland-based study say at times they go without food and hygiene products because they cannot afford them.
The study, by Unitec Institute of Technology, released on Tuesday, found many of the 1964 students surveyed struggled to meet basic needs.
Because of this, two-thirds said they had ‘‘seriously considered’’ dropping out of study due to financial pressures.
More than half of those surveyed were adults upskilling, changing careers or having their first go at formal qualifications. One in three had at least one financially-dependant child.
Despite cash flow from loans, family or earnings, one in three students said they had to forgo food and hygiene products because they could not afford them.
The survey found 55 per cent or work-study-life did not have enough income to meet their living costs at some stage in the past 12 months. More than two-thirds of Maori students surveyed expressed the same struggle.
New Zealand Union of Students’ Association president Jonathan Gee said the survey showed the cost of study was a ‘‘huge disincentive’’ for many to continue with tertiary education.
‘‘Tertiary study should be a way out of poverty, not a way into it,’’ he said.