Student loan debts burden new nurses and teachers.

There are close parallels between primary teachers' experience of student debt and that of newly graduated nurses, according to NZNO president Jane O'Malley.

NZNO strongly supports the findings of a report, released last month, into the effect of student debt on primary and early childhood teachers. Teachers in Debt: A Report Card calls on Government for a decrease in teacher education fees, a Living allowance for all students and a fairer student loan scheme. It was jointly produced by the New Zealand University Students' Association and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI Te Riu Roa).

The survey of teachers in their first and second years found student debt affects teachers in the classroom, causes stress and affects their ability to save money and make decisions such as whether to have children. The survey of 841 new primary and early childhood teachers found 90 percent graduated with at least $20,000 of debt, most of it due to government student loans. Only eight percent avoided taking out a student loan to study. There was also a 12 percent gap between median salaries paid to female and male teaching staff.

NZNO's research into nursing student debt, released in a report in 2003, had almost identical findings, said O'Malley. "Like primary and early childhood teachers, nurses are also a predominantly female workforce and are more adversely affected by the student loan scheme than the male workforce."

Newly elected vice-chair of NZNO's National Student Unit, Jennifer Reid, was at the report launch and attended the national hui of NZEI's Young Members' Network. "What politicians and bureaucrats don't realise is that student debt affects us as we go about our daily work, whether it is teaching kids or nursing patients," she said. "It is stressful and a heavy burden on top of a demanding training course, especially for women with dependent children."

Now in her second year at the Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology, Reid will be 37 when she completes her nursing degree. Recently married, she wonders whether she will be able to start a family with a student loan of $30,000 to repay. "When you are a student, you don't realise the consequences of student debt. Some nurses will take up to 30 years to pay off their loans and will pay around double the amount in interest. It is no wonder so many nurses and teachers plan to work overseas in order to pay off their loans more quickly." Reid is impressed with the 12-point plan put together by NZEI: Te Rui Roa. This includes lowering the interest rate from the current seven percent; introducing flexibility into repayment obligations; and having loans recognised when other social welfare entitlements are being assessed.

NZEI: Te Riu Roa is also distributing a six-question survey to all its members and is encouraging them to back its campaign to put student debt firmly on the political agenda during this election year. Reid is hoping the NSU will pick up the campaign and help other students become better informed about the crippling effects of student debt.