OnPoint by Keith Ng

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OnPoint: Student Loans are Loans (Duh.)

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  • Kumara Republic, in reply to Ian Dalziel,

    Looks like Joyce is finally getting some use out of his (free?) Zoology degree - it sounds like he is describing aphid farming with the Government/universities as the ants - he constantly presents foreign students as a source of income or future support for New Zealand, but never mentions us embracing them and their culture - it's all take, take, take...

    Indeed, I got the impression he saw their wallets and not much else. It only takes one body in a suitcase to throw things out of whack.

    The southernmost capital … • Since Nov 2006 • 5446 posts Report

  • Sofie Bribiesca, in reply to BenWilson,

    I don't feel comfortable in either box. Lilith regards my response as uncontroversial, which I'm happy about.

    That was kinda me too, so you are down with this girl. Actually, Adamanty matter, with a wig and a hat Ben....... ;)

    here and there. • Since Nov 2007 • 6796 posts Report

  • chris, in reply to Kumara Republic,

    It only takes one body in a suitcase to throw things out of whack.

    Ain't that the truth

    Mawkland • Since Jan 2010 • 1302 posts Report

  • merc, in reply to Ian Dalziel,

    I read somewhere...that ant colonies are the most similar in most ways to human colonies, I could google, but I wont.
    Ben, love your work.
    Joyce, I thought that piece needed to be aired because it shows a huge lack of empathy, equally so in the reporter, it's just plain obvious that there is out there a very scary psychotic shift (it is the term) when it comes to market driven ideology versus the people it is supposed to be aiding.
    I am concerned.

    Since Dec 2006 • 2471 posts Report

  • Ian Dalziel,

    Knight at the isoptera….

    Does that make him an agony ant?
    Or perhaps an ant-agonist?

    I’m thinking it’s classic second-termite behaviour….

    antediloovial….

    Adamant

    Pretty sure I used to micturate on him….

    more of a conviction than an opinion…

    I thought that piece needed to be aired
    because it shows a huge lack of empathy,
    equally so in the reporter

    Sadly, Joyce was the author!

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 7953 posts Report

  • Lilith __, in reply to Ian Dalziel,

    Thy micturations are to me
    As plurdled gabbleblotchits on a lurgid bee.

    ;-)

    Dunedin • Since Jul 2010 • 3895 posts Report

  • merc, in reply to Ian Dalziel,

    Sadly, Joyce was the author!

    Awe, straight to print, well done NZ Herald.

    Since Dec 2006 • 2471 posts Report

  • Sacha, in reply to merc,

    plain obvious that there is out there a very scary psychotic shift

    Yes. What can we do about it?

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report

  • Sacha, in reply to Rob Stowell,

    anty-intellectual

    noice

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report

  • merc, in reply to Sacha,

    I do not know.

    Since Dec 2006 • 2471 posts Report

  • Kumara Republic,

    How not to raise the entry bar for teachers. Chances are it’ll only aggravate the teacher shortage, and entrench academic Social Darwinism. And wouldn’t it raise the teacher entry bar above that of other OECD nations?

    Given this is a hatchet job by the new Treasury big cheese, I suspect the real reason is to bust the teacher unions where Anne Tolley failed. Not an issue for the Gabriel Makhloufs and Tony Marryatts of this world, they’ll just send their kids to gated communities with classrooms – oops, private colleges.

    I am reminded of a Garrick Tremain cartoon from the 1990s, where a teacher is speaking into a microphone in a big stadium and says, “Will the children on the left bank please stand up?” I’ll see if I can Google that one.

    The southernmost capital … • Since Nov 2006 • 5446 posts Report

  • Matthew Poole, in reply to Kumara Republic,

    And wouldn’t it raise the teacher entry bar above that of other OECD nations?

    Not particularly. Finland requires a Master's degree to become a teacher, and their education system really is the OECD's pinnacle of perfection. I would say that this is a worthy step on the way to being more like Finland, but there's no money to increase the pay of these better-educated teachers, there's now doubt that those better-educated teachers will be eligible for a student allowance by the time they come to do their teaching qualification (or possibly even the necessary post-graduate study), and it's clear that this is window dressing to distract from all of the other parts of the budget announcement that directly attack the quality of education in this country.

    Auckland • Since Mar 2007 • 4097 posts Report

  • Steve Barnes, in reply to Ian Dalziel,

    it sounds like he is describing aphid farming with the Government/universities as the ants -

    Don't be silly, ants don't have any money.
    But wait, perhaps with more subsidies for farming we could send sheep to university.

    Peria • Since Dec 2006 • 5521 posts Report

  • chris, in reply to merc,

    it’s just plain obvious that there is out there a very scary psychotic shift (it is the term) when it comes to market driven ideology versus the people it is supposed to be aiding.

    Which brings us back to duh

    And it makes sense to target our investment for maximum return. Who are the people most worthy of funding? What kind of skills do we want in the economy? Where do we get the most bang for our buck?

    Mawkland • Since Jan 2010 • 1302 posts Report

  • merc, in reply to chris,

    This is The Model for everything now. Welfare included. Needless to repeat. Welfare and education are not, nor should they ever be stated in the same breath as bloody R.O.I. ACC is in there too now, must perform like an insurance company, newly appointed czar from said industry. 500k+ salaries are a growth industry here.
    There is a NZ Herald article that I cannot find that baldly states the fact that the latest welfare quango is to look to R.O.I.
    Everybody must perform to nebulous R.O.I now (never defined!), except our dear leaders, who sup in glass houses watching the window cleaners fall.

    Since Dec 2006 • 2471 posts Report

  • Ian Dalziel, in reply to merc,

    More transparency?

    ...watching the window cleaners fall.

    Squeee
    Geee
    ee
    e
    e
    .
    ,

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 7953 posts Report

  • Kumara Republic, in reply to merc,

    Everybody must perform to nebulous R.O.I now (never defined!), except our dear leaders, who sup in glass houses watching the window cleaners fall.

    Or should that be razor wires, concrete walls and Uzi-toting mooks?

    The southernmost capital … • Since Nov 2006 • 5446 posts Report

  • merc, in reply to Kumara Republic,

    No, they are quite transparent about it. Bill's houses, John's not knowing which house he lives in and so on. They trade on our good will, no need for uzi's.
    Even the other John will skip lightly away from the mismatch between his stating he did not know Dotcom, to apparently not declaring a 1000.00 gift from him.
    And on the list goes. Meantime I goog moral equivalence, 'cause you know...

    Since Dec 2006 • 2471 posts Report

  • Matthew Poole,

    This article is quite apposite to the discussion about scientific process and the "value" of A-grade scientists. Also has the added bonus of taking a pot-shot at the myth of Thomas Edison (and Oatmeal's Tesla comic is linked in the comments).

    Basically, if we don't get high levels of investment in industrial-scale R&D we're not going to get very far in transitioning away from exporting moo juice and trees.

    Auckland • Since Mar 2007 • 4097 posts Report

  • merc, in reply to Matthew Poole,

    The whole gig with denusion based economies is to, well...denude.

    Since Dec 2006 • 2471 posts Report

  • Paul Williams, in reply to Bart Janssen,

    I find it a great pity that the Techs have felt the need to become Universities.

    I'm so late to this discussion, I can't add much except to say that in the last National Government, the then Minister for Tertiary Education, Wyatt Creech, told them that's exactly what they should do - they should aspire to be universities. He went further and introduced incentives to encourage them into that very space. It was stupid policy not least of all because it simply redistributed existing enrolments across a broader range providers, rather than increase or broaden participation.

    I'm sorry I've not followed this thread more closely, I'll merely offer the view that the NZ student loan scheme is in desparate need of reform - root and branch - and I hope that happens before Australian universities start recruiting directly from NZ schools (which is inevitable given the current policy settings).

    Sydney • Since Nov 2006 • 2273 posts Report

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