Kōrero: Tertiary education

A student loan scheme for tertiary students was introduced in 1992. Student debt subsequently became a political issue. In 2011 the president of the University of Otago Students' Association, Harriet Geoghegan, created an installation which highlighted the debt issue. Students were given sticky notes on which they recorded their career aspirations, debt amount and how long they thought it would take to pay off. The notes were arranged to read '$ ELEVEN BILLION' – the total amount owed by student loan scheme borrowers at the time.