The Tertiary Education Union says students who fake mental health problems take away from people who are actually suffering.
Wellington university students have been caught making posts on social media encouraging others to lie about mental health problems to get extensions on their assignments.
The union says it could lead to staff second-guessing students who have genuine issues.
National Secretary Sandra Grey told Mike Hosking students are dealing with a variety of problems including work stress, and struggles finding accommodation.
"We need to be better equipped to deal with that, and that means we need better resources in our universities and our polytechnics."
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