USQ Reported to Reduce Job Cuts in Math/Stats/CT by Three. (May 7, 2008)

Sweeny Todd, The Daemon Barber of Fleet Street would appear to have a counterpart in the University of Southern Queensland's administration.

Janet Verbyla, USQ's dean of science, is reported by The Australian's Bernard Lane as telling the broadsheet's Higher Education Supplement while the University of Southern Queensland was likely to retain a major in mathematics, five, rather than eight, of the 14 maths and stats jobs would be axed.

From what TFW understands 12 positions in mathematics, statistics and computing were to be eliminated which suggests that over all the intention is still to retain only three, and severing 9 rather than 12.

Overall that indicates that the nine-hundred who answered Fields Medalist Terry Tao's plea to petition USQ has had a pyrrhic victory.

 Meanwhile Cheryl Praeger, a Federation fellow at the University of Western Australia and the first Australian to sit on the IMU executive committee, told Mr Lane the USQ cuts "flew in the face" of Howard and Rudd government attempts to reverse "an alarming loss in mathematics capability".

And yet the Minister for Education, Julia Gillard said through a spokesperson that while USQ had to seek permission to close certain categories of courses, such as those vital to a region or to remedying skill shortages as the department understands it, the university's plans do not cover courses in these categories.

Apparently Southern Queensland doesn't require proper coverage of maths/stats and CT at the tertiary level.

Professor Verbyla told the HES that there was "virtually no demand" for a major in maths and stats although she did concede that some subjects in maths and stats were needed for engineering and other programs and added: "The requirement to teach maths and stats in (Queensland) schools is not a major. There is disagreement among the experts as to how much (maths) they need (to teach)."

A bemused Peter Hall, president of the Australian Mathematical Society, was puzzled by Professor Verbyla's claim that teacher training at USQ would be unaffected by the loss of a major in maths, telling the HES: "Many reports ... have commented very adversely on Australia's present capacity to train mathematics teachers to a sufficiently high standard."

Finally, as regards the extra funding made available for maths in the last Costello budget Professor Verbyla told Bernard Lane "it was wrong to speak of administrations 'siphoning off" the 2007 budget increase. Some of it will flow through (to maths and stats departments) as (cluster funding) does in any other area. [In any case] we've got to look at student numbers because it's the student numbers that earn that money.'"