Interest-free loans for economically important courses
Following its announcement last week that the government should only provide interest-free loans to students who do courses that benefit the economy KPMG revealed this week that it also believes that graduates who have subsequently misused their education and failed to benefit the economy should be charged retrospective interest.
KPMG head of agribusiness Ian Proudfoot told Tertiary Update’s Paki Taunuhia that KPMG was subsequently writing a cheque for the government representing the unrealised positive contribution to the economy from its own accountants and lawyers.
“Obviously our proposed policy of offering interest-free loans on to those students who study worthwhile courses is all about picking winners,” said Mr Proudfoot. “But, like any gamble, sometimes your ‘sure thing’ doesn’t win the derby. Who, for instance, would have foreseen that John Key, with his B. Com, would spend his time selling state assets and undermining important economic drivers like tertiary education? Clearly, there’s room there for the public to be demanding a refund on that tertiary education investment.”
Mr Proudfoot last week told the Dominion Post it was time to discuss targeting the loans scheme at “areas where graduates can add real value to the economy quickly”, such as agricultural sciences, agribusiness, horticulture, viticulture, biochemistry and international marketing.
Asked later by Paki Taunuhia whether his role as KPMG’s head of agribusiness influenced in any way which tertiary education courses he saw as most important Mr Proudfoot noted that he had also chosen international marketing as a valuable topic.
“You can see the economic value skilled people in this area have already brought to New Zealand through their contribution of ideas such as Auckland’s plastic waka and Wellington’s Wellywood sign.”
