Students demand Free Education

Not to mention completely free healthcare. Castro is a bit of a heavy trade-off, I'll agree, but for competely free healthcare and education, across the board, it's almost worth it.
BTW, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland all have completely free post-secondary education, Finland has 99.9% literacy (and the others are very close to it) and virtually free healthcare. Granted, their taxes are between 45%-60%, but isn't that worth it? Their salaries are also nearly twice as high (on average) which means they can largely afford these taxes, however this is where NZ differs: the Scandinavian economy is boosted significantly by the accessibility to Europe's economy.
Still, one would believe that free education +healthy workforce -> higher salaries/wages -> better products & services -> better economy = Win-Win.
Duh?!

Education is not free, it never has been.

@No shit Sherlock, hence the demo!

And being an activist list you people should know better - 'education' is more of a sham nowadays than it ever was.

@What makes you think people don't know that?

It is entirely appropriate that people pay for their so-called education given the context in which it exists - as a commodity [not for knowledge for its own sake and enjoyment, but quals for wage slavery for the majority!!].

@So given that this is the reality (and I agree that it is..), why should employers/politicians not pay for the education? Why should the "people" pay for the education, when it is employers/politicians who recieve the final product: a docile, obedient, ignorant, maliable civil society?

ABANDON EDUCATION NOW!

@No education is a good thing. ABANDON SCHOOLING NOW!. Schooling does not equal Education; in fact they are diametrically opposed to one another!

Good shit, I'm tugging along an $80,000 loan so put me down for the next march.

In reality, you cannot expect to pay yourself a huge salary when you are not earning anything. The only way you can get a free education is not to have one - sic. That is; material science education has come to the end of its road. Social education is better acquired from experience than from books. But it must have a solid peer group for role models and guidance. With Bush and Blair among the shrewd economists like Brash, or no economies like Peters, the precedent for no education system is poor to say the least. You don’t want to lead an anarchist society into war and race based policies. So, free education may have to wait for a long time yet.

Yeah you too mate (in advance)

Teena koutou katoa
Heres a catch cry you will never hear from students. "A fair livable income for all citizens of New Zealand". I wonder why that is? Something about being middle class and self interests? Well I dont know. Does anyone else know?

400 students and staff from several tertiary institutions in Wellington marched to parliament on Tuesday in protest against student debt, for free education, for a universal student allowance, and for higher staff wages. This was one of the biggest student demonstrations in recent years. Anarchists huddled around a black flag and were, like most others, unimpressed by Trevor Mallard’s speech. 2005 could be the year that Victoria students and staff actually fight back against the government and the university council.

*sigh*

I want free education too, but it looks like we arent going to get it.

March all you like, wave placards, burn effergies, the government is not going to listen to you - they wont even cut fees let alone scap them entirely. All they want to talk about is a saving scheme.

All youre just doing is portraying yourselves as a bunch of middle class layabout whiners who want something for nothing, and from so-called "middle new zealand" all you will get is calls to "get a f**king job".

15 years of marches on all we get is a change in student allowance thresholds and a scapping of interest on loans while we study, not to mention a fee cap. I think that maybe you need to try something different for a change. Perhaps doing some research, dicthing the placards and making reasoned arguements.

Until then, the government is not going to listen. It never has, and it never will.

And Cuba is in the Caribbean, and technically is a part of Latin America - the collective of central and south america

@JH
but it's not only wether education costs something or not - it's also about wether it's FREE or not.
The state will never give us freedom. They channel us through an education system that turns us into slaves of the capitalists.
The Alliance might give us education that we don't have to pay for, but they will deny us freedom.

Its important to remember who pays for tertiary education. Its paid for out of the value created by the working class. Graduates of tertiary education should serve the working class in return for the education that the workers paid for. This has always been the case! The fees and large debts the right have introduced give no insentive for students to serve the workers, it only makes the students poor. What is needed is a system where students can get an education without being charged fees, where they get an allowance etc. But in return on graduating they serve the working class. No debt, no temporary poverty whilst studying. Instead we have an education system that serves the people.

Socialist revolution is the solution!

The stories coming out now from Guantanamo Bay will make you want to eat a tennis ball. Mr Bush and Mr Blair, are in for the long winter..

whoops, I didn't read the parent article very well, did I? I see they supported 'staff'. But which university staff did you support? I hope it just wasn't the lecturers and professors!

Shame to see compulsory student associations continuing to lie by claiming to represent all students.

Student health services are usually provided by institutions not associations. If they're not it can be arranged so that health is not linked to student politics.

If students are hungry they can go to WINZ or charities. Student associations' primary role should be representation, not subsidising some students' food.

All I want is accurate political representation. I don't want to be forced to join a group which claims to speak for me but says things I don't agree with. What's wrong with that?

current moves by the Australian Howard government couple privatisation of student health with forcing voluntary membership (thus not really freedom of choice) onto student associations. National Party want a similar policy - so fees can only be collected for education (not for student services or student unions).

If there were no students associations, there'd be no united voice to campaign for services like student health to be funded properly.

If the best thing the right can come up with against student poverty is charity, then they haven't come far from the Victorian era!

so you think that students should starve.

(You fucking wanker).

Get a grip Brendan. Of course I don't want to see people "starve" but you and I know that's not happening here.

I enrol at an institution why should a student association take money from me to subsidise other people's food costs? Where does this stop? Should I be forced to subsidise their rent, their transport, their power?

Subsidising other people's living costs is way beyond the role of student associations. Food banks are a political gimmick used by associations to attract attention to so-called "student poverty". However a walk through any student carpark will show you that this so-called poverty is certainly not universal and some students are actually quite well off. If students are as poor as some student politicians like to claim, why should they all be made to subsidise the living costs of a few?

Associations are political groups which are supposed to speak for their members. Their wealth redistribution activities are not justified.

Again, why should I be forced to join a group which holds views that I don't subscribe to?

Can you answer that question rather than reverting to abuse?

Nah like a handful vote Act and a few farmers kids come to uni and vote National cos their rich muther fucker daddies told them too.
Polls show far more students vote Labour than National, and Parties like Greens do much better with students than lunitics like Act and United or Winston first.

PS - Nats are all racists who hate maori, students, poor people and everyone but rich muther fuckers

students should have the choice to not live under another fucking horrible national government