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Disadvantaged at most risk after uni funding cuts
Peter Dawkins
Janice Reid
6 | May 2013
Disadvantaged students will be hardest hit by federal plans to cut $ 2.8 billion in funding from higher education, according to senior university staff. By Antonia Maiolo
victoria University( VU) reported it stands to lose up to $ 4.4 million a year under the federal government’ s proposal to cut funding to Australian universities to pay for the Gonksi reforms.
VU’ s vice-chancellor professor Peter Dawkins expressed disappointment over the government’ s decision to reduce university funding.
Dawkins said while he believes in increased investment in the school sector, taking funding from universities sends a“ mixed message”.
“ It suggests that education funding is a zero sum game, but many studies have shown that public money invested in education at all levels returns a positive economic and social benefit to the country,” Dawkins said.
Friends of Victoria University spokesman Paul Adams said VU was already bearing the impact of the state government’ s $ 40 million funding cuts to TAFE which lead to staff and course closures last year. He said that these new cuts are“ counterproductive” and will harm disadvantaged students.
At dual-sector universities such as VU the cuts will be absorbed across the entire University and will include TAFE, according to Adams.“ And closing more TAFE courses basically undermines the opportunities of low SES students who have not been able to get a fair go in secondary education.”
“ VU’ s large numbers of SES students, highest of any uni in the metropolitan region, are likely to be highly cost sensitive and withdraw from courses because of the lack of scholarship support and higher cost for their course upon finishing,” Adams said.
He said the Victorian TAFE cuts of last year led to a significant drop in student numbers.
Adams said VU has already shed 400 staff, including lecturers, teachers, and general staff, and said it is likely that these new cuts will lead to a new round of redundancies.
VU’ s vice-chancellor said that the university’ s management would have to make“ difficult decisions” about how to accommodate these latest cuts.
The University of Western Sydney, which has a significant number of low SES students, reports they too will suffer under the federal funding cuts. Vice-chancellor professor Janice Reid said three-quarters of the university’ s 41,000 students are from western Sydney.“ Of these, roughly 24 per cent are from low-socioeconomic backgrounds.
“ Where is the logic in hurting one group to help another? Surely the government could find savings in other areas that won’ t limit opportunities for our region’ s families and students,” Reid said.
She said the efficiency dividend, an annual reduction in funding to universities by two per cent, would reduce UWS’ s Commonwealth Grant Scheme funding by almost $ 15 million.
The changes to the Student Start-up Scholarship for students facing financial hardship – which will become a loan instead of a scholarship – will increase the debt burden on those least able to afford tertiary study, according to UWS.
The university said it will continue to press both sides of politics, so that the people of western Sydney are not further disadvantaged, and that they can access higher education regardless of their economic circumstance.
“ It is ironical that with all the political attention focused on supporting the growth and development of western Sydney, we here in the west are then expected to do the majority of the heavy lifting to deliver national budget commitments,” Reid said. n