Govt 'actually making moves' to help students - VUWSA

The government is standing by the rollout of its no tertiary fees policy, despite $200 million earmarked for the programme being redirected towards reforming vocational training. The Finance Minister, Grant Robertson, says since offering the first year of university free to school leavers, a five-year decline in enrolments has stabilised - though numbers have not increased, nor have they reached the initial forecasts. Mr Robertson says that while the government will continue to review the best way to implement its no fees policy, it is committed to offering three free years of tertiary training by 2024. But the president of the Victoria University Students Association is disappointed the government is redirecting hundreds of millions of dollars allocated to ito the policy to other projects. Tamatha Paul tells Corin Dann: "The previous government did little to nothing for tertiary students and it is really encouraging having a govt that finally... We've got $50 increase for student allowances, first year free for university."