Students protesting in Dunedin on Thursday.
The government has been accused of balancing its books on the backs of already-indebted students, as hundreds marched through cities protesting against the scrapping of the fees free study scheme.
Budget 2026 locked in the removal of the policy that gave students their final year of tertiary education at no cost, following a government announcement in early May.
In Dunedin on Thursday, more than 200 students marched from the University of Otago through the city centre to the Octagon carrying placards and banners.
Second-year student Louis Gerard said the government had made an absurd and selfish decision that would cost him thousands of dollars.
