The Government has said it is pleased with the progress being made with its goal of reducing the cost of lending student loans.

Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce and Revenue Minister Peter Dunne announced earlier this month that changes to the student loan scheme have significantly reduced the cost of lending money.

“Changes over the past three budgets have helped reduce the cost from 48 cents to 39 cents in the dollar so far,” Joyce said.

According to Joyce, the Government wants to put the extra money towards reinvestment in the quality of tertiary education.

“We want to ensure student loans are used effectively by people to obtain qualifications and earn enough to pay their loan back and contribute to New Zealand, while we reinvest in the next generation of students.”