Increasing Debt
Average student loan balances have increased substantially over time. For instance, a 2007 survey by the New Zealand Union of Students' Associations found that the average student debt was over NZ$28,000, up 54% from 2004. (For comparison, the average annual income (before tax) of New Zealanders aged 15 or more was nearly NZ$35,000.)
The loan system has changed and modified since its inception in 1992. Initially it provided bulk payments to students and charged lower than market interest rates from initial drawdown. This led some entrepreneurial students to use this money for investment purposes benefiting them but leading to a widespread perception of student excesses. In 2001 a growing debt mountain caused the new Labour government to stop interest payments while students studied and in 2006 they rode to election on the promise of stopping interest for all those remaining in New Zealand. Nonetheless the total student debt reached $10 billion in 2008, and is growing by $1 billion annually.
Read more about this topic: Student Loans In New Zealand
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