Grant Robertson

Steven Joyce's tinkering with a time limit for accessing the student loan scheme is set to shut out some students from finishing their medical studies, while saving almost no money for taxpayers overall, Labour's Tertiary Education spokesperson Grant Robertson said today.

"Today's Gisborne Herald highlights the case of a student who did a bachelors degree in science before entering medical school. Under Mr Joyce's scheme she would be ineligible for a student loan in the final year of her medical study," Grant Robertson said today.

"With fees and living costs this would mean having to find tens of thousands of dollars to complete her qualification on top of existing debt. This could easily lead to a student not finishing their qualification or leaving the country.

"This is a bizarre outcome that Mr Joyce needs to address.

"It is even more ridiculous when the policy itself is, according to Treasury 'creates unnecessary complexity in the system for little gain'. Papers released under the Official Information Act indicate that the policy will cost more to administer than it will save for many years. And even when fully implemented, it will only affect 250 people a year and save a few hundred thousand dollars.

"For such small savings to the Government as a whole, Mr Joyce really does need to consider if it is worth potentially preventing students who are on the cusp of becoming doctors from finishing their studies. This would seem to be a perverse outcome," Grant Robertson said.

"The Gisborne Herald also contains a letter from a bachelor's degree graduate who is out of the workforce but wants to become a rural doctor. Because of National's cuts to student support, including the Training Incentive Allowance and scholarships, she is not able to pursue those goals," Gisborne based Labour List MP Moana Mackey said.