21 August 2001 Lincoln students "stoked" at fees freeze decision.

The decision by the Lincoln University Council to accept the Government's funding offer in exchange for freezing fees in 2002 has been meet with delight by the Lincoln University Students' Association (LUSA).

"The Lincoln Vice-Chancellor has today announced that Lincoln University is accepting the funding offer, which is a great victory for LUSA," said LUSA President Charlie Chambers.

"This decision recognises that students cannot afford to pay any more for their University fees and goes some way to amend the financial burden faced by students," said Chambers.

"It was disappointing that the final decision was made in the in-committee section of the council meeting as Lincoln students were eager to know the final result. We do accept however, that there were items of commercial sensitivity that needed to be discussed in confidence. As such, we did not choose to have a large student presence at the meeting," said Chambers.

Next year students' associations nationwide look forward to campaigning for increased funding for the tertiary sector in general. "The Government must not become complacent; if it takes a 2.6% funding increase to freeze fees, it will require greater commitment from the Government to reduce them," said Charlie Chambers.

For further information please contact Charlie Chambers, LUSA President