The Victorian School of Languages (VSL) decided not to give the Greek distance education program a reprieve, and will be downsizing the program despite it having steady student numbers.
Last week the program’s coordinator and only teacher, Maria Foscolos, was asked to plead the case of the program to management but it fell on deaf ears.
The program has now been declared ‘in excess’, meaning the program will be downsized by half, cutting enrolments and staff.
The action will force Ms Foscolos’ full time position down to two or three days and will mean many students will be pushed out of studying Greek.
The VSL distance education program for Greek is the only program available to rural students in Victoria, and has been in operation for forty years.
The school says low numbers has become a ‘concern’ for them, but have admitted enrolments have remained steady over the last couple of years, something other Greek schools have not been able to achieve.
Even with huge support from the Greek Australian community arguing the program’s value, the board still decided to cut the program in half without giving much of a reason.
The community argued the program will be seeing new demand from new migrants settling in Australia from the economic crisis but it fell on deaf ears.
“Distance education is often the sole avenue available to rural students to learn the Greek language in a formal setting,” La Trobe University’s Greek studies program said in a letter to the VSL.
“We understand that enrolments are currently low, but they have remained steady and, given the European crisis, are likely to increase with the new resettlement of families from Greece in non-urban areas of Victoria.”
The program is unique in Victoria and is one of the few that teaches students one-on-one, complementing their existing knowledge and not giving them stock coursework for a determined level.