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Some students from the Southern Institute of Technology are concerned they won’t be able to afford completing their studies if there is no more Zero Fees scheme. Related: Former SIT CFO Passionate To Save Zero Fees Scheme
Former chief financial officer Bharat Guha has been approached by students worried they will have to pay thousands more for their course, under proposed Te Pukenga tertiary reforms.
Bharat has already collected 1586 signatures for his petition to help save the scheme, which he and Penny Simmonds were involved in 23 years ago.
He said many of the students that contacted him had left their own city to make a new life in Invercargill, but will not be able to afford continuing to study if the reforms go through.
The petition closes on Sunday and next Monday lunchtime the petition will be presented to MP Penny Simmonds.
She will then ask the House of Representatives to consider removing the SIT from the Te Pukenga tertiary reforms.
Bharat now works for the Invercargill Licensing Trust as its Chief Financial Officer.
He urges people to go online and help fight for their polytechnic, “because at the end of the day, it’s the community of Invercargill that had the bravery and foresight to invest in this proposal.”
The Zero Fee Scheme attracted Kiwis from all walks of life to Invercargill to undertake an education programme. Degree programmes were the most popular as a student could undertake a Bachelor of Nursing paying only $1,200 for Direct Material Costs per annum – compared to other polytechnics at around $8,000 per annum. Savings to students were huge.