New Zealand Provides Financial Assistance To Struggling Universities

In an effort to avoid the elimination of positions and course offerings at colleges battling to recover from the pandemic, New Zealand today proposed a multimillion dollar rescue for financially constrained universities.

The finance and education governments said that they would increase tuition subsidies to inject NZ$128 million (RM370 million) into the industry.

Some of New Zealand’s leading colleges are having trouble recruiting students domestically, and after the Covid-19 border closures, international students are returning later than expected.

Otago University in Dunedin and Victoria University of Wellington have recently gave warnings that hundreds of jobs and courses could be lost as a result of financial shortages.

The one-time bump, according to Education Minister Jan Tinetti, will benefit New Zealand’s degree providers over the following two years.

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“This funding will help maintain the quality and breadth of higher education offerings and research capability in our tertiary institutions,” she added.

“This is vital for our students, our tertiary workforce, our broader research system, and for economic and social wellbeing in New Zealand.”

She acknowledged that the additional funding “should make a positive difference” but that it “will not resolve all the issues that universities are facing.”

The Tertiary Education Union’s Julie Douglas characterized the government’s move as “better late than never” and expressed her “cautiously optimistic” belief that the additional funds would be sufficient to prevent some universities from having to make cuts.

But she cautioned, “We are afraid the money may be spread too thin given that it is not targeted at the institutions who are struggling the hardest.