Chisholm TAFE warns of cutbacks

Chisholm Institute of TAFE says budget cuts of more than $25 million could hurt disadvantaged students and lead to course closures.

The institute is the biggest training provider in Melbourne’s south-eastern suburbs, with campuses in Dandenong, Cranbourne, Berwick, Frankston and Rosebud.

Chief executive Maria Peters said that in 2013 the institute would lose at least $25.5 million, almost one-third of its government funding, on top of a loss of $4 million in funding from the state government last October.

“Given the magnitude of the cuts, it is more than possible there will be job losses and the likelihood that some of our current courses will not run.”

Asked if campuses may close, a spokeswoman said the institute was still working through the implications for each campus.

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