Eleven Billion

[Edbear]

My wife is paying back her loan for her Diploma. The loan made her study a l;ot easier than it would have been had we had to pay it up front ourselves or take out a bank loan. The IRD was very helpful and assessed the payments according to her income and our circumstances and they are manageable for us. Never was a question as to whether we would pay it back. The salary increase for her qualifications more than made it worthwhile!

[bogan]

What gets me is, so far 85,000 of said loan takers have bugged out and are now residing in a land far away. The government are now looking at a time limit to repay or they will put the recovery of the money into the hands over seas debt collectors.

Fair enough I reckon, a lot go overseas because it's better money, or lack of jobs here; in either case they should have enough to cover their debt. Actually they could add a debt collection paper to the BA degree then get something useful out of them

[Edbear]

Fair enough I reckon, a lot go overseas because it's better money, or lack of jobs here; in either case they should have enough to cover their debt. Actually they could add a debt collection paper to the BA degree then get something useful out of them

I do know some have gone overseas because they can earn enough to repay their loan much more quickly than by staying here. It'd be good to know the stats on how many are doing that.

[Toaster]

The oustanding student loan (Loan= not a gift) is eleven billion dollars.
It was never a gift, how about you get off your educated arses and pay back what is not yours to keep. The NZ economy could well do with the money the Government 'loaned' you.
If I were to ever take out a loan for whatever reason, I would have to pay it back as per the contract that was signed at the time.

Completely agree for those avoiding paying it back. Interest free loans are at a direct cost to us. When I put myself through University I paid a total interest bill that nearly doubled the original loan but back as fast as I could so I could start saving for my first home.

The average income earner yet again gets shafted paying for those above and belwo them and with little reprieve in tiny tax cuts already sucked up in price increases in must have items like fuel, milk and bread.

[bogan]

Actually I heard some mutterings about changing the interest free part? I reckon it's good to have interest free while studying, but after the study is done, having interest would be a good incentive to pay it back. And would discourage people from borrowing the max all the way through so they can have a house deposit when they leave and start work

[Gremlin]

And would discourage people from borrowing the max all the way through so they can have a house deposit when they leave and start work

I think more than a decade ago, it may have been possible to abuse the system, but when I went through Uni starting in 2002, I never saw the funds, with them being transferred to the UoA directly.

I have a loan, ended up owing about 12-15k after 4.5 years of Uni (they only paid for the course fees). I worked part time during Uni and full time during breaks to pay for the books etc. The statements were shit, several people couldn't decipher how they were supposed to balance etc.

Re paying it back? I am, at the minimum required rate based on my income. It's interest free, so the real value of the loan is actually going down due to inflation, so I would be crazy to pay it back any faster. I could also bank the cash I would otherwise put into the loan, to earn interest etc. Recession is ruining the interest rate tho.

[Hopeful Bastard]

Do you lot even understand how a Student Loan works??

Its not like a bank loan where you ask for a sum of money and put some in ya back pocket.... I have a $10000 odd Student loan.. Do i see a Dollar of that? Or even get some to put on a house deposit? ( I WISH!)

I dont think so.. Only money I got was from my Student Allowance and working.

Am I paying my loan back? Yes I am.


Do I agree with putting Interest onto Student loans? No. Never. At the rate I am paying mine off, All I will be paying off is the Interest.. Can I afford to pay more? No. Why? Take a look at minimum wage.. Lucky to get $400 a week.. All Gone before i even see it

Why dont I get another job i hear you ask?? Go and have a look on trade me. See how many people are asking for x years experience. Or a license you dont hold?


Just my few words in this topic.

[bogan]

Do you lot even understand how a Student Loan works??

I have around 20ks worth (not bad for 7 years of uni, and counting ), so I hope so!

Fees only is the one you don't see, but living costs, and the 1k course related costs goes straight into your account, and you can get about 9k pa from the later two.

[Maha]

I do know some have gone overseas because they can earn enough to repay their loan much more quickly than by staying here. It'd be good to know the stats on how many are doing that.

Three.....

[racefactory]

Not sure if the people claiming that we are avoiding paying it back know how a student loan even works.

Unless you go overseas and bugger off for good (hard to do considering how fine this country is), you will always be gradually paying it off automatically so long as you are on or above the minimum wage. Having said that though, there are still many who pay their loan off from overseas.

[Hopeful Bastard]

I have around 20ks worth (not bad for 7 years of uni, and counting ), so I hope so!

Fees only is the one you don't see, but living costs, and the 1k course related costs goes straight into your account, and you can get about 9k pa from the later two.

Crikey! You are a Lucky soul to get that!

My costs went into transport, feeding myself etc..

She's quite a distance from Paraparaumu to the back hills in Levin 4 days a week..

I was lucky to get $200 a week on the Student Allowance. Any Living costs I received I have to pay back. Whilst studying, I was actually going backwards finance wise..

[bogan]

Crikey! You are a Lucky soul to get that!

My costs went into transport, feeding myself etc..

She's quite a distance from Paraparaumu to the back hills in Levin 4 days a week..

I was lucky to get $200 a week on the Student Allowance. Any Living costs I received I have to pay back. Whilst studying, I was actually going backwards finance wise..

Well obviously most wouldn't be able to save that, but if you wanted to abuse the system (under parental funding or have a job as well), that is how much you could get. I guess you could look at it as the parents or job are paying for that house deposit instead, but seems a bit unethical.

[Brian d marge]

Would have been nice to go to Uni when it was free...

Dont worry most of the over forties on this forum did just that ... its only the young ones who have to pay .... probably can guess why they called it godzone .....)

Ahhhh its the students fault the country is in the shit? I did wonder....

John key and all them sitting in that newly refurbished beehive of decite , also had free Education ...

The oustanding student loan (Loan= not a gift) is eleven billion dollars.
It was never a gift, how about you get off your educated arses and pay back what is not yours to keep. The NZ economy could well do with the money the Government 'loaned' you.
If I were to ever take out a loan for whatever reason, I would have to pay it back as per the contract that was signed at the time.

So you are feeling hard done by ... because of successive government curtailing to a foreign powers economic whimsy

Education , if I remember is a social contract between , the student and the community , but when the contract is broken , both side complain . ( I wonder who broke this contract first ...... Oh I remember , they said it was to get more people into higher education,,,,,)

Last time I checked, Education IS free , and has been since Adam was a lad . PROFIT in education is a fairly new concept.

Also someone with a bit more economic savvy ,.... is the student loan on the books as an asset or a debt?? ( my guess is asset!)

Still must be nice and quiet there with half of the young earners living overseas , must be tough on the grandparents watching the grandchildren grow up via skype


Stephen

Snip Changes are proposed to Inland Revenue’s administration of the student loan scheme to improve
the overall integrity of the scheme, and reduce compliance costs and administrative pressures.
The social policy programmes administered by Inland Revenue have, over recent years, greatly
increased Inland Revenue’s customer base: for example, there were 58,000 new student loan
borrowers in the 2007–08 tax year. The current student loan system is complex, unwieldy,
expensive to maintain, and has limited ability to accommodate further changes. Each policy
change made has exposed underlying system issues, which require corrective action and have the
potential to destabilise both the student loan and core tax collection systems. The student loan
scheme represents a significant asset to the government, which needs to be managed effectively
to protect the value of this asset, and better manage the cost of the student loan scheme to the
Crown.

So all good for Key and his mates , all about reducing inflation at the expense of the common man ...... Carry on ...Use lube it doesnt hurt so much

[Woodman]

Is the student loan system contributing to the brain drain??

The people with "brains" leave the country and won't come back because then they will have to repay their loans.
Kinda discourages them working here really.

[Mully]

The people with "brains" leave the country and won't come back because then they will have to repay their loans.
Kinda discourages them working here really.

Mmm, I wondered that.

I always thought a bonding system (need a Dr in a small town, write off 10% of the loans per year) would be the go.

I'd think maybe there are too many B.Com, L.L.Bs are being produced and there's no demand to bond them - so they buggar off.