Amid worsening student poverty and debt, the Otago University Students’ Association (OUSA) and Victoria University of Wellington Students’ Association (VUWSA) are calling for a universal study wage.
The associations have launched a petition for a "Study Wage for All" and are advocating for political candidates to commit to the policy in the lead-up to the general election.
OUSA president Quintin Jane said student poverty was the product of the political choices of successive governments and was representative of the wider disregard of student issues.
"With universities experiencing declining enrolments and retention as a result of cost of living pressures, now is the time to support our students to support our universities.
"A Study Wage for All means students won’t have to choose between getting an education and supporting themselves financially."
VUWSA president Jessica Ye said the current student allowance scheme did not work because under the means-testing system, only 12% of students received a student allowance which provided debt-free living support.
Most other students had to withdraw student loans and go into debt to survive.
She said students were twice as likely to "not have enough money" to meet everyday needs compared with the total adult population, and two-thirds of students still could not regularly afford necessities.
Many students could no longer afford to study.
Parental income testing relied on an outdated assumption families could support their children in tertiary study.
However, many families above the threshold still struggled financially.
About 60% of students do not receive financial support from their families — in particular, 75% of Pasifika students and 70% of Māori students do not.
Parental income-testing also allowed the system to be gamed by the rich, who could hide their wealth in trusts or assets.
The petition called for the introduction of a universal study wage for all tertiary students, at a decent rate, that would ensure students could "live with dignity and focus on their studies".
It was envisioned the Study Wage for All would initially be set at $385 a week (after tax), and annually re-calculated to ensure students could make ends meet.
It also proposed all tertiary students would be eligible for the universal study wage, and the current student allowance scheme means-testing and other eligibility requirements would be abolished.
"Valuing education as a public good means that we must see a more sustainable funding model for tertiary institutions and make tertiary education accessible to all," Ms Ye said.
"The tertiary underfunding crisis and student poverty crisis go hand in hand."
