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David Shearer
Tertiary Education spokesperson
1 September 2011

Canterbury University needs time to recover

The cutting of up to 350 jobs over three years at Canterbury University will send the university into a downward spiral, says Labour Tertiary Education spokesperson David Shearer.

“So many job losses means that the university will almost certainly have to cut some of the courses it currently offers, making it less attractive to students and ultimately making it more difficult for it to recover in the long term,” David Shearer said.

“This is simply not the time for Canterbury to be losing any of its intellectual firepower.

“Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce should also reflect on the fact that this news is an enormous kick in the guts for students as well as staff.

“The student army provided phenomenal support to the Christchurch community after the earthquakes, and I feel incredibly sad at the prospect that any of the students who spent days digging out liquefaction from around the city might have to move out of Christchurch because of cuts to courses and university staff numbers.

“The university needs to be given more time to rebuild,” David Shearer said.

“This is the time when Steven Joyce needs to be getting in behind the university.

“The university has made a tremendous contribution to Christchurch’s economy, and in recent months academics have been at the forefront of many of the plans for Christchurch’s rebuild.

“Christchurch simply cannot afford to lose any of this contribution.”

ENDS

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