Victoria University have decided to proceed with the planned culling of 22 out of the Department of Education’s 141 academic positions, and 7 of its 41 administrative positions. This despite 204 submissions from staff and students, almost all opposed to the extent of the cuts. Association of University Staff are fucked off, saying that the cuts are based upon “a crude shift in emphasis from teacher education to research in education” based purely on an “arbitrary” figure for budget overspending.

Conversely, the University has bowed to pressure to delay any cuts to the Gender and Women’s Studies programme, to allow for more consultation. VUW had proposed several crazy reforms of Gender, including a minimum of 16 people in all Honours courses (which is far more people than you want in post-grad discussion classes), and moving it away from Kelburn campus and the rest of the arts, to the College of Education campus sequestered in Karori. Gender Studies is currently part of the Department of Education at Vic, although it is more commonly associated with Sociology and Anthropology at other Unis.