Australian budget hits higher education hard

By Angeli Mehta. Australia has confirmed substantial cuts of A$3.8billion (£2.4 billion) to higher education in this week’s budget. The cuts have been unveiled over the past six months and Catriona Jackson, chief executive of advocacy group Science & Technology Australia, warns that they are ‘really going to get in the way of research’. In total, Australia slashed spending by A$43 billion, ‘which means universities are taking nearly 10% of the cuts: that’s an awful lot’, she adds.
The funding squeeze includes 2% efficiency savings, roughly A$30 million per university. ‘This is money universities had already factored in, so it’s inevitable that research will be impacted,’ says Jackson. The money saved will contribute to major school reforms, which are ‘incredibly important, but it’s a continuum … there’s no point in coming out of improved schools to an impoverished university sector’. Read more...