The minister of tertiary education Steven Joyce has signalled that next month’s budget will limit the ability of students over the age of 55 to borrow living costs while they study.

He told TVNZ that about 70 percent of the money students over the age of 55 borrow gets written off by the government “so we are looking at some things around that. I think we always want to be able to provide some access, so for perhaps borrowing for fees, but borrowing for living costs and borrowing for the compulsory course costs is not necessarily where we want to be.”

For many students in this age bracket, who are already ineligible for a student allowance, this may mean they are unable to study, as they will have no access to living expenses.  This will be particularly hard for older workers who are up-skilling after losing their job or suffering from age discrimination in the workplace.

David Do, president of the New Zealand Union of Students Associations (NZUSA) says the government is “picking on the elderly”.

“We think this is very unfair. We believe every student, old or young, should be able to access the same financial support,” Mr Do told TVNZ’s Breakfast.

“The government should explain why it should discriminate on the basis of age.”

Do said many of the students who would be affected are trying to retrain to improve their job prospects.

“Essentially this is a short-sighted cost-cutting exercise that picks on the elderly,” Mr Do said.