Ele Ludemann: Fees-free failure

Philip Crump shows that Labour’s fees-free policy was an expensive failure:

“While questioning the Tertiary Education Commission in this week’s Parliament’s Education and Workforce Committee, I was told there is ‘no discernible evidence’ the previous Government’s fees-free scheme has improved participation from low socio-economic groups,” says ACT Tertiary Education and Skills spokesperson Dr Parmjeet Parmar.

David Farrar: The Hipkins free fees disaster

The Herald summarises the impact of Hipkins' expensive first year free fees policy:

The Herald last year reported the number of decile 1 students in first-year tertiary study has halved since the policy started, with students from wealthier backgrounds making up an increasingly greater share.