The coalition Government then changed it to cover the final year of tertiary education study.
In the 2017 election, the Ardern-led Labour Party campaigned for fees-free tuition. The scheme was introduced as part of the then Labour Government’s first 100-day plan in 2018. But in 2019, $197 million in fees-free funds that hadn’t been spent because of a lack of uptake were redirected.
A Herald analysis, published in January, revealed the number of disadvantaged students using the fees-free scheme for university in 2024 slumped to the lowest figure in the scheme’s short history.
Data obtained by the Herald under the Official Information Act looked at the policy from 2018 to 2024, and the relationship between the scheme’s uptake and students’ socio-economic circumstances.
It found 1.3% of the fees-free students at university in 2024 came from EQI 7 schools, which, in actual numbers, translates to 230 students, while there were 775 students from EQI 6 schools.
Both of these are the lowest numbers on record for the scheme’s six-year history.
Julia Gabel is a Wellington-based political reporter. She joined the Herald in 2020 and has most recently focused on data journalism.