Students speak out about impact of Australian university job cuts – World Socialist Web Site

 

Report on Tertiary Education Restructuring in Australia and its Implications for Sustainable Development Goals

1.0 Introduction

A significant restructuring is underway across Australia’s public university sector, characterized by widespread job cuts and a strategic realignment of educational priorities. This report details the scope of these changes, their driving factors, and their profound impact on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).

The restructuring is primarily driven by federal government policy changes, including cuts to international student enrolments. This has precipitated cost-cutting measures across numerous institutions, leading to a reported loss of over 3,500 jobs in the last 10 months. Affected universities include:

• Newcastle University
• Western Sydney University
• Macquarie University
• Charles Sturt University
• Australian National University
• University of Canberra
• University Technology Sydney (UTS)
• University of Wollongong
• University of Tasmania
• Charles Darwin University
• Federation University
• James Cook University
• Southern Queensland University
• Griffith University
• La Trobe University
• Swinburne University

2.0 Analysis of Impacts on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

2.1 SDG 4: Quality Education

The current changes present a direct challenge to the objective of ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education. The core principles of SDG 4 are being undermined through several mechanisms:

• Reduced Access to Educators: Staff reductions and increased workloads are leading to diminished face-to-face teaching time. One student reported a reduction from approximately 30 hours of weekly class time a generation ago to just 13 hours today, compromising the depth of learning.
• Narrowing of Curriculum: Universities are reportedly removing elective courses and narrowing subject choices, particularly in the arts and humanities. This shift moves education away from a broad-based model toward a more vocational, job-specific focus.
• Erosion of Support Services: Student support services, including health, disability, counselling, and equity programs, are reportedly becoming harder to access, with longer wait times and reduced availability. This compromises the goal of providing inclusive and supportive learning environments for all.
• Financial Barriers: The continuation of policies that double the cost of humanities courses relative to STEM fields creates significant financial barriers, undermining equitable access to diverse fields of knowledge.

2.2 SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

The university job cuts directly contravene the aims of SDG 8, which promotes full, productive employment and decent work for all.

• Large-Scale Job Destruction: The loss of over 3,500 positions represents a significant contraction of secure, skilled employment within a key public sector.
• Precarious Labour Practices: The reliance on “voluntary redundancies” to manage staff reductions is noted. Furthermore, the introduction of mandatory “Work Integrated Learning” (WIL) programs, described by one student as “free labour,” raises concerns regarding student exploitation and the undermining of fair work principles.

2.3 SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

A significant concern is the reallocation of public resources and institutional focus away from education and towards military-related objectives, which conflicts with SDG 16’s aim to promote peaceful and inclusive societies.

• Diversion of Funds: The government’s commitment of hundreds of billions of dollars to military spending, including the AUKUS submarine agreement, is occurring concurrently with funding shortfalls in the education sector.
• Militarisation of Campuses: Universities are reportedly increasing ties with the defence industry. This includes a heavy presence of military contractors like Boeing and Lockheed Martin at careers expos and the advertisement of defence-related research grants to academics.
• Suppression of Free Speech: There are reports of government-backed actions against academic freedom and student protest, including the targeting of academics critical of military actions and the suspension of students involved in anti-genocide protests. This undermines the development of accountable and inclusive institutions.

2.4 SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

The policy shifts are exacerbating inequalities both within Australia and globally.

• Global Educational Inequality: The cuts to international student enrolments limit opportunities for students from other countries to access Australian education, impacting global knowledge exchange and mobility.
• Socio-Economic Disadvantage: The deterioration of student support services and increasing financial pressures disproportionately affect students from low-income backgrounds and those with disabilities. The inadequacy of student allowances forces many to work alongside their studies, creating a barrier to academic success and widening the inequality gap.
• Discipline-Based Inequality: The higher fees for humanities courses create a system where access to certain types of education is determined by a student’s ability to pay, rather than academic merit or interest.

3.0 Stakeholder Response and Proposed Actions

3.1 Trade Union Position

Campus trade unions, including the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) and the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU), are criticised for allegedly failing to oppose the government’s agenda and instead collaborating with university management to implement cuts, such as by proposing voluntary redundancy schemes.

3.2 Formation of Rank-and-File Committees

In response to the perceived inaction of official bodies, Rank-and-File Committees have been formed by staff and students at Western Sydney University and Macquarie University. Their stated objectives are:

1. To build a unified campaign of educators, students, and workers to oppose the cuts.
2. To operate independently of the established trade union apparatuses.
3. To connect the struggle on Australian campuses with global movements of educators through bodies like the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees.

These committees have called an online public meeting to discuss the drivers of the university cuts and to develop a strategy for a unified response. The meeting is framed as a necessary step to defend public education as a social right and to counter the shift towards a pro-corporate and war-oriented agenda.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

SDG 4: Quality Education

The entire article is centered on the crisis in tertiary education in Australia. It discusses funding cuts, the reduction in course quality and availability, and a shift in educational priorities away from broad learning towards specific, militarized skills. This directly relates to the goal of ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education.

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

The article extensively covers the issue of job cuts in the university sector, impacting both academic and non-academic staff. It explicitly states that “more than 3,500” jobs have been lost, affecting staff at numerous universities. This connects to the goal of promoting full, productive employment and decent work for all.

SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

The article highlights several inequalities. The cuts to international student enrolments create inequality in access to education. The policy of making humanities courses “twice the cost of science and engineering courses” creates financial inequality based on the field of study. Furthermore, the financial pressure on students, forcing them to work alongside their studies, exacerbates socio-economic inequalities.

SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

The article addresses this goal by discussing the suppression of free speech and peaceful protest, citing “attacks on anti-genocide protests and free speech, including arrests and suspensions of students.” It also points to a lack of institutional integrity by describing how universities are being reshaped to serve a “war economy” and military interests, diverting funds from education to military spending (“$368 billion” for the AUKUS deal).

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

1. SDG 4: Quality Education

   • Target 4.3: By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university. The article shows this target is being undermined by “cuts to international student enrolments” and the increased cost of humanities courses, which limit access to quality tertiary education.
   • Target 4.4: By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship. The article critiques the government’s “job ready graduates” scheme, suggesting the definition of “relevant skills” is being narrowly defined by “corporate elite and the development of a war economy” rather than for broader societal benefit.
   • Target 4.7: By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence… The article argues that the focus is shifting away from a “broad education” and “free discussion” towards militarization, which is contrary to promoting a culture of peace.

2. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

   • Target 8.5: By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men… and equal pay for work of equal value. The article details massive job destruction, with “up to 400 job losses” at one university and over “3,500” nationally, directly opposing the goal of full employment. The mention of “free labour” in Work Integrated Learning (WIL) programs also undermines the principle of decent work.

3. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

   • Target 10.3: Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome… The policy making humanities courses more expensive than STEM courses creates unequal opportunities based on academic interest and financial capacity. Cuts to international student enrolments also reduce equal opportunity on a global scale.

4. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

   • Target 16.10: Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements. The article highlights direct threats to this target, such as “attacks on anti-genocide protests and free speech,” “arrests and suspensions of students,” and the freezing of a research grant for an academic critical of government-backed military actions.
   • Target 16.a: Strengthen relevant national institutions… to prevent violence and combat terrorism and crime. The article argues that government actions are weakening key public institutions (universities) by diverting “hundreds of billions of dollars into military spending” (e.g., the AUKUS deal) away from essential services like education.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

1. For SDG 4 (Quality Education)

   • Number of job losses among teaching staff: The article states over “3,500” jobs have been lost nationally in 10 months.
   • Student-to-lecturer contact hours: A student notes a significant reduction, from “30 hours a week” 30 years ago to just “13 hours in one week” now.
   • Availability of course options: A fine arts student reports that “effectively all the elective classes have been removed.”
   • Tuition fee disparity: “Humanities courses are literally twice the cost of science and engineering courses.”
   • Number of international student enrolments: The article is framed around the government’s “intensifying cuts to international student enrolments.”

2. For SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth)

   • Number of redundancies in the tertiary sector: The article provides a figure of “more than 3,500” job losses and lists 15 universities with known job cuts.
   • Prevalence of unpaid work schemes: The article mentions that “Work integrated learning (WIL) is now mandatory” and describes it as “basically free labour.”

3. For SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities)

   • Difference in tuition fees by field of study: The 2:1 cost ratio between humanities and STEM courses is a clear indicator of inequality.
   • Proportion of students requiring employment: The article implies this is high, stating that “Now almost everyone works alongside study.”

4. For SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions)

   • Incidents of suppression of free speech: The article cites “arrests and suspensions of students” and the freezing of Dr. Randa Abdel-Fattah’s research grant.
   • Government budget allocation: The article contrasts under-funding of universities with the “$368 billion” allocated to the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal, indicating a shift in national priorities away from public services towards militarization.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs	Targets	Indicators Identified in the Article
SDG 4: Quality Education	4.3: Equal access to affordable and quality tertiary education. 4.4: Increase in youth and adults with relevant skills for employment. 4.7: Education for sustainable development and a culture of peace.	Reduction in international student enrolments. Reduction in face-to-face class time (from 30 to 13 hours/week). Reduction in the number of available elective courses. Tuition fee disparity: Humanities courses are “twice the cost” of STEM.
SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth	8.5: Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all.	Number of job losses in the university sector (“more than 3,500”). Number of universities implementing job cuts (15 listed). Implementation of mandatory unpaid work (“free labour”) via WIL programs.
SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities	10.3: Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome.	Disparity in tuition fees between humanities and STEM courses. Cuts to international student places, limiting equal opportunity. High proportion of students needing to work while studying due to insufficient financial support.
SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions	16.10: Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms. 16.a: Strengthen national institutions to prevent violence.	Number of arrests and suspensions of student protestors. Instances of government interference in academic freedom (freezing a research grant). Diversion of public funds from education to military spending (“$368 billion” for AUKUS).

Source: wsws.org