Before last year's election, one of the Labour Party's
key promises was making tertiary education free
for new students this year,
and beyond that, three years of free fees by 2024.
We're heading to Lincoln High School,
just outside of Christchurch, to meet Taylin Smith
and Caleb Sim, two year 13 students with a free period,
to talk about their expectations
for life beyond high school.
So, Taylin, mock exams are coming up, are they?
Yep, in a week.
And do you know what you're gonna be doing
beyond this year?
I've got a scholarship to go over to China next year,
so I get to go to university in China, and study there
for a semester.
And beyond that, are you gonna come back
to New Zealand, or?
I think in 2020 I will.
And you, Caleb?
I plan to go to Canterbury University next year
to study software engineering.
Last year, the government introduced
their free tertiary education policy.
It's one year free fees at the moment.
Have you been aware of this?
Is this something you're stoked about?
I'm definitely aware of it, you know, and it's definitely
a good thing, I think, for me.
It takes the pressure off.
Yeah, I agree with Caleb, cause university
is getting really expensive these days,
and trying to find the money, to, like, put loans
on houses and stuff, just, it will definitely help
a lot, I reckon.
So you are thinking
about student loans
and paying it off until your 40s.
I think everyone going
to university is conscious of that, yep.
Do you have any friends, or do you know anyone
at school, whose attitude towards tertiary education
has been affected by this one year free policy?
No, I don't really think so.
I think you need to know where you're going
from an early age.
It's almost like year 10 when you need to decide
where you're looking to go, and if it's just a year
before your uni, I think it affects people
that are only gonna study something just
to study for the sake of studying.
Whereas people that have a career,
they've already made their decision,
and they know what they want to do,
and it either makes things easier
or it doesn't affect them because they don't want
to study at university.
You sound a lot more switched on than I did at high school.
The free fees policy wasn't welcomed by everyone.
Its critics said it would encourage drop-outs
with no intention of completing a course or a degree.
We're at Otago University today to speak to students,
to find out if that's actually been the case.
Government figures show that
by April, over 33,000 students had taken advantage
of the first year fees free policy.
And student borrowing for fees is down.
There were over 25,000 fewer borrowing
in the first three months of 2018,
compared to the same period last year.
So your fees have been, I suppose, free this year.
Has that sort of felt like the pressure's been off?
Yeah, in some ways it has.
In others, I feel like I have to pass
because it is free, so I want to make the most of it.
I was always gonna come to university,
so in my perspective it sort of hasn't affected
whether or whether or not to come study,
but it's just a massive advantage.
I've been talking to my boss from work,
and he says that he's had a massive student loan,
and he's just turned 35 now.
He's got a house.
He's got three kids, and he's just paid it off,
and so that's just one thing that I guess is gonna help
me out in the future, yeah.
I suppose there was a criticism of this policy
that there would be a large group of students
who didn't take this year seriously,
that there would be a large number of drop-outs.
Have you found that to be true with the people
you know at all?
No, I honestly haven't found that with anyone.
Yeah, cause I did think so, and my mum's a sociologist,
and she kind of thought that as well,
and argued that, but everyone I talked to has seemed
to really appreciate that we get this year free.
And other people who are older, are like, "I can't believe
"you got this year free."
Is there some - a little bit of maybe jealousy
from older students? Yeah, I think so.
But I feel that it's good that they brought it in though,
because for all the younger generations.
So far, so positive.
But in search of a second opinion, we decided
to venture down the nearby Castle Street,
a student hub notorious for its couch-burning
and wild parties.
Hamish, you're a second year student,
and you missed the free fees boat by about a year.
Yep, that's right.
Does is sting pretty hard?
Yeah, it does somewhat.
I mean, like, we were all pretty stoked
to just be able to get into uni in the first place,
but now that everyone can get in for free,
like, I don't know, I think quite a few
of us are pretty annoyed that we missed the boat.
Generally speaking, what's your opinion on the policy?
Well, I think that it shouldn't be the first year
that everyone's getting it for free.
I think it should be the second year,
because then that gives you a bit of an incentive
to actually get into that stage.
Do you know many first year students?
What's their attitude been towards it?
Well, some of them just kind of take
it as a flag year and not really take it too seriously,
because obviously it's all free, but like,
I think that there is definitely still the incentive
to get into second year, obviously,
but I don't think that it's as -
Pressure's off a little bit?
Yeah, it does pressure off a little bit, I think, yeah.
Back on campus, we met another first year.
Law and Māori Studies student, Jayda.
It's interesting that even though your course fees have
been paid for, you feel like there's more pressure
to succeed this year.
Just knowing it's coming from the government
and coming from people who are paying for me,
I feel that, in a way, I have to really try
to give back to them.
I think it's nice of the government to open this
up for everyone.