The remains of the first-year University of Canterbury student were so badly decomposed that specialist disaster investigators were brought in to identify them.
“Clearly there’s been quite a big failure here,” New Zealand Education Minister Chris Hipkins said.
“And if that means that things need to change to make sure this sort of thing doesn’t happen again in the future, then we will do that.”
The 19-year-old, who has not been publicly identified, was described by friends as a “good and confident guy”, but who would sometimes “go off the grid for a week or so.”
The undergraduate began his course in July — the start of the academic year in New Zealand — have opted to live on Canterbury University’s leafy campus in Christchurch.
Single rooms at the halls of residence where the student’s body was found cost NZ$17,000 (US$10,000) a year, the university’s website says, boasting they offer a “close-knit community”.
The halls of residence is run by Campus Living Villages — a company that operates student accommodation with more than 45,000 beds in the US, the UK and Australia, as well as New Zealand, according to its website.
“The thing that haunts me is how did we miss him?” CLV managing director John Schroder told reporters.
“I’m very perturbed. If indeed the young man was deceased for as long as he was… then I would say that is a failing on our part and we have to adjust our processes and systems.”
Local media reported the dead man’s stepfather had raised concerns with police after being unable to contact the student via friends.
“It’s not right, it’s just not right on any level,” one outlet quoted a family member as saying.
Canterbury University vice-chancellor Cheryl de la Rey said it was an “extremely distressing time” for students and staff coming to grips with what had happened, adding an independent investigation into the death will be launched.
“Despite the comprehensive pastoral care programmes in place, for us, it is inconceivable to imagine how these circumstances could have occurred,” she said in a statement.
De la Rey promised an independent investigation into the circumstances of the death. When questioned on national radio she said she had no explanation for the student’s family.
“I am deeply sorry, I and the university will do all we can to answer these questions,” De la Rey said.
Hipkins added the government would wait for the outcome of investigations launched by the police and coroner, before looking at whether regulations governing student accommodation needed to change.
The university, one of New Zealand’s oldest, has more than 17,000 students.
Undergraduates pay around NZ$6,500 a year in fees.
(AFP)
Posts
Thank you for reaching out to us. We are happy to receive your opinion and request. If you need advert or sponsored post, We’re excited you’re considering advertising or sponsoring a post on our blog. Your support is what keeps us going. With the current trend, it’s very obvious content marketing is the way to go. Banner advertising and trying to get customers through Google Adwords may get you customers but it has been proven beyond doubt that Content Marketing has more lasting benefits.
We offer majorly two types of advertising:
1. Sponsored Posts: If you are really interested in publishing a sponsored post or a press release, video content, advertorial or any other kind of sponsored post, then you are at the right place.
WHAT KIND OF SPONSORED POSTS DO WE ACCEPT?
Generally, a sponsored post can be any of the following:
Press release
Advertorial
Video content
Article
Interview
This kind of post is usually written to promote you or your business. However, we do prefer posts that naturally flow with the site’s general content. This means we can also promote artists, songs, cosmetic products and things that you love of all products or services.
DURATION & BONUSES
Every sponsored article will remain live on the site as long as this website exists. The duration is indefinite! Again, we will share your post on our social media channels and our email subscribers too will get to read your article. You’re exposing your article to our: Twitter followers, Facebook fans and other social networks.
We will also try as much as possible to optimize your post for search engines as well.
Submission of Materials : Sponsored post should be well written in English language and all materials must be delivered via electronic medium. All sponsored posts must be delivered via electronic version, either on disk or e-mail on Microsoft Word unless otherwise noted.
PRICING
The price largely depends on if you’re writing the content or we’re to do that. But if your are writing the content, it is $60 per article.
2. Banner Advertising: We also offer banner advertising in various sizes and of course, our prices are flexible. you may choose to for the weekly rate or simply buy your desired number of impressions.
Technical Details And Pricing
Banner Size 300 X 250 pixels : Appears on the home page and below all pages on the site.
Banner Size 728 X 90 pixels: Appears on the top right Corner of the homepage and all pages on the site.
Large rectangle Banner Size (336x280) : Appears on the home page and below all pages on the site.
Small square (200x200) : Appears on the right side of the home page and all pages on the site.
Half page (300x600) : Appears on the right side of the home page and all pages on the site.
Portrait (300x1050) : Appears on the right side of the home page and all pages on the site.
Billboard (970x250) : Appears on the home page.
Submission of Materials : Banner ads can be in jpeg, jpg and gif format. All materials must be deliverd via electronic medium. All ads must be delivered via electronic version, either on disk or e-mail in the ordered pixel dimensions unless otherwise noted.
For advertising offers, send an email with your name,company, website, country and advert or sponsored post you want to appear on our website to advert @ alexa. ng
Normally, we should respond within 48 hours.