Pandemic pain exacerbated by funding snub: UOW student

It is only this year that the third year Bachelor of Economics student has been able to study on campus full time.

Happy to be back on campus, Mr McLachlan fears the pandemic has only exacerbated the real problems for not only students and staff, but the higher education sector.

The Wollongong Undergraduate Student Association education officer said the lack of funding support from the federal government was a "real kick in the guts" for the struggling sector.

"The pandemic has been a complete crisis in all social spheres but it has been particularly true for the university sector," Mr McLachlan said.

"The only response that the government has made over the last few years of the pandemic has been to lower the amount of funding per student and to increase the cost of, particularly arts courses and various other courses for students.

"I think the pandemic exacerbated things that were happening in the university sector long before 2020, which was historic cuts to university funding.

"This resulted in unprecedented job losses. There are so many teachers at UOW who are no longer here. We had courses that were cut supposedly to keep the university afloat but we know that the university still made profit over the last two years.

Read more: Anger over disputed UOW job cut figures

"The loss of teachers I think has had the biggest impact on a students' experience of university.

"When courses are understaffed, when casual tutors are overworked and underpaid, all these things add up and are detrimental to students' overall learning experience.

"I think that has been exacerbated over the last two years and it is likely to continue. The pandemic is not over."

The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) and The National Union of Students (NUS) both panned the latest federal budget, which they say slashed government funding per student by 5.4 per cent in real terms in the next year and 3.6 per cent in the following two years.

They added despite 35,000 job losses in public universities last year, there were no measures to restore jobs nor rectify the damage inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I think this recent budget announcement which sees more funding cuts over the next few years for the university sector will only make conditions worse," Mr McLachlan said.

"Students have an expectation of what university is going to be like....... of course the pandemic made things different and a bit strange......but I think most students supported the public health orders that were in place.

"Most students supported that we needed safe environments both for students and staff during the worst of the pandemic.

"Things that really took a toll on students over that time was just the sheer limited access to welfare.

"Students were losing their jobs, students were not working and students had limited access to the stimulus payments that were around and for the short time that they were around.

"That is what really took a hit to the wellbeing of those young people throughout the pandemic and that alienated experience of university online obviously added to that."

IN OTHER NEWS:

The federal government gave out JobKeeper and JobSeeker payments during the worst times of the pandemic.

The next federal election must be held before May 21 at the latest.

With this in mind the NUS will hold a national day of action on April 13 to demand among other things stopping cuts to university courses and staff, and abolishing all HECS debts and providing a liveable income to students.

The day will also call for anti-strike laws, which prevent university staff of taking industrial action.

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