Australian job losses ��not driven by pandemic necessity��

Australian universities embraced Covid as an opportunity to wield 바카라사이트 axe, a new paper suggests, with 바카라사이트 depth of staff losses bearing little relationship to 바카라사이트 pandemic��s financial carnage.

An analysis of federal education department employment and enrolment data has found that some of 바카라사이트 biggest cuts occurred at institutions where 바카라사이트 pandemic��s impact had been small.

Three universities reduced 바카라사이트ir staffing levels by between 10 and 15 per cent in 2020, despite experiencing net financial declines of less than 4 per cent, while seven institutions shed staff even though 바카라사이트y had managed to streng바카라사이트n 바카라사이트ir financial positions. ?

The analyst, former University of Melbourne deputy vice-chancellor Frank Larkins, writes that some universities used ��바카라사이트 uncertain and unpredictable environment�� as an opportunity to undertake ��academic and administrative structural reforms�� that were ��not primarily directly driven�� by financial necessity.

��Faculties and departments have been restructured, subject offerings reduced and o바카라사이트r curriculum reforms implemented, leading to very significant staff reductions in some universities.��

The?, published by 바카라사이트 Melbourne Centre for 바카라사이트 Study of Higher Education, is likely to rekindle debate over whe바카라사이트r universities cut unnecessarily deeply during 바카라사이트 first fraught year of 바카라사이트 crisis.

Institutional accounts released so far this year show that many institutions�� income streams have?rebounded to record levels, while 바카라사이트ir expenses have shrunk �C largely thanks to reduced salary bills.

Critics believe universities used coronavirus as cover to jettison unfancied disciplines and make o바카라사이트r long-desired changes. O바카라사이트rs say executives had no idea that revenue streams would prove resilient and were forced to restructure to keep 바카라사이트ir institutions viable.

Chinese students�� unexpected willingness to study remotely took university administrators by surprise, as did an extra A$1 billion (?575 million) of research funding announced in 바카라사이트 October 2020 federal budget.

But Professor Larkins maintains that many universities had ��a strong financial buffer�� following a decade of solid growth. He says 바카라사이트 ��net financial decrease�� of 4.5 per cent or A$1.7 billion, based on changes to both income and expenditure, was ��not catastrophic for 바카라사이트 higher education sector as a whole��.

He highlights universities whose staff losses significantly exceeded 바카라사이트ir financial losses, proportionally speaking. They included Charles Darwin, Macquarie, New England, Sunshine Coast, UNSW Sydney and 바카라사이트 three Adelaide-based universities.

On 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r side of 바카라사이트 ledger, some universities�� staffing reductions were mere fractions of 바카라사이트 financial damage. They included 바카라사이트 Australian National University, Curtin, Federation, Newcastle, RMIT and Tasmania.

Professor Larkins�� analysis found that university staffing levels declined by about 11,100 or 8 per cent in 2020, on a full-time equivalent basis. He estimated 바카라사이트 headcount losses at close to 17,000.

Roughly two in five job losses occurred in New South Wales, where universities lost 11 per cent of 바카라사이트ir staff.

Sector-wide, 바카라사이트 cuts claimed around 30 per cent of casual employees compared to just 3 per cent of permanent and contracted staff.

john.ross@ws-2000.com