Regional Impact of Funding Cuts to Post-Secondary Education
27 October 2001
A public forum of Wannon federal election candidates on Tuesday will hear that the future of South West Victoria depends on reversing the woeful decline in funding for post secondary education.
Candidates will hear from local education leaders that Deakin University, South West Institute of TAFE and Glenormiston Agricultural College must be supported by better government policies if they are to continue to produce high calibre graduates.
The Warrnambool campus of Deakin University has lost one third of its staff and one quarter of its students since the election of the Howard Government. Funds have been stripped from other areas to fund places for post graduate students wanting to study at Deakin Warrnambool.
Data released by the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) today, shows that in 1996, the campus had 2578 equivalent full time students (EFTSU), and in 2000 this had dropped to 1927. The loss of 651 EFTSU represents a reduction of 25.3% in student load.
The data also shows that over the same period, full time equivalent (FTE) staff fell from 210 to 140, representing a drop of exactly one third.
President of the NTEU sub-branch at Deakin's Warrnambool campus Ms Suzanne Young said: "The loss of jobs and student places corresponded with cuts to Deakin's funding imposed by the Howard Government and consequential loss of confidence in the future of higher education institutions in this region."
"Since 1996, Deakin has lost over ten million dollars in Commonwealth Government funding. All of us at Deakin are highly committed to providing quality education for the South West, but these budget cuts, job losses and reductions in student places are making it much harder. Only 35% of funding of Deakin University comes from government grants. Our commitment needs to be recognised by government and funded appropriately."
"Staff are really beginning to feel the squeeze. The student; staff ratio is higher than the national average, the funding cuts were among the worst in the country, and like other university staff we're under increasing pressure to seek industry and private sector funding. A recent study of health among university staff which included Deakin, found that we are twice as likely as the general population to suffer health effects associated with stress, and three times as likely as the general population to suffer severe health effects. So far we've managed to maintain teaching quality, but it's coming at a cost - our health!"
The future of higher education in the Wannon electorate will be debated at a community forum, on Tuesday 30 October. Warrnambool Mayor James Nicol will chair the forum, which will be addressed by candidates for the seat of Wannon, Rob Wallis (Deakin University), Barry Baker (South West TAFE), Doug McLean (Glenormiston College), Greg McConville (National Tertiary Education Union).
The Forum, titled "Who can we trust with our region's future?" will be held at the Caffe Regal Function Room, 163 Timor Street, Warrnambool at 7.30 pm.