The Union of Students' Associations says the poor performance of New Zealand universities in a major international league table reflects the sector's underfunding.
All but one of the six New Zealand universities in the QS World University Rankings has lost ground in the 2011 edition, published on Monday.
The students' association co-president, David Do, says that when inflation is taken into account, tertiary funding is going down, which compromises the quality of education that is offered.
But Education Minister Steven Joyce says the Government has increased spending in the university sector by 16% in the past three years.
