‘Sheffield Uni needs East Asian Studies’ – 3000 sign petition to vice chancellor

A petition launched calling for the University of Sheffield to halt plans to “significantly reduce’ capacity in the teaching and research of East Asian Studies has reach over 3,000 signatures at the time of writing.

The petition states that the university has made a “fundamental mistake in failing to consult with staff students, alumni and supporters of east asian studies” on their plans and calls for it to “go back to the drawing board.”

In November last year, University of Sheffield management disclosed four executive proposals to cut expenditure in the School of East Asian Studies (SEAS), as part of a broader programme of cost reduction against the backdrop of the £50 million shortfall facing the institution. 

Addressed to vice chancellor Koen Lamberts, the petition is being supported by the University of Sheffield branch of the University and College Union (UCU), who posted a link to the petition last week on their social media channels.

The plans are slated to amalgamate existing courses in Japanese, Chinese and Korean into a single East Asian Studies programme. A PhD student at the SEAS, who is supporting the petition, said: “Sheffield is one of the only universities that offers Korean language degrees. Getting rid of specialised courses is going to knock them off the map.”

Other proposals include restructuring language tuition and staffing – initially through a voluntary severance scheme (VSS), – and administrative centralisation.

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The University of Sheffield has consistently stated that their ongoing restructuring efforts are not intended as cost cutting measures. However, The Sheffield Tab reported yesterday that in a powerpoint presentation delivered by the vice chancellor on professional services restructuring, a slide stated: ““The university is now expecting 2,000 fewer international students in 2024-25, and fewer international students in future years. This means that, as a whole, we will need fewer staff.”

The campaign against the cuts to the SEAS is called Sheffield Needs EAS. Their website states “staff and students of EAS at Sheffield believe these proposals will seriously harm our provision, and the state of knowledge of East Asia”.

They go on to remark that of the school’s 500 masters’ students last year, “many are international students”. The university’s financial difficulties have been exacerbated by the decline in lucrative foreign student applications; international students pay £22,000 in tuition per annum compared to the current domestic rate of £9,250. This is a figure that is set to rise after the government’s latest budget, even as university provisions are cut and university management salaries increase.

The PhD student at the school states: “They’d never ask the engineering department to get rid of specialised courses.”

The Sheffield Tab reported last semester that just three of the 11 departments that were subject to the voluntary severance scheme were STEM departments.

A representative of the Sheffield UCU commented: The SEAS proposals represent the “latest damaging attack on world leading areas of scholarship, starting from the closure of the biblical studies degree programmes, the decision to close archaeology, and now targeting a globally influential programme.”

The University of Sheffield has stated it has “no plans” to cut any courses, but “stops short of ruling the measure out”. 

The spokesperson for Sheffield UCU said: “Management has not made an adequate case that job cuts at this level are financially necessary, nor that the right place to make cuts are from staff.”

The university’s programme of cuts have been opposed by Sheffield UCU and other unions. Last semester, anger amongst staff saw over 1,000 university employees pass by a no-confidence vote in the university’s leadership. The Sheffield Tab also announced yesterday [20th January] that the Sheffield UCU would open an indicative ballot of its members, sounding out for the possibility of strikes or industrial action.

The PhD student who spoke to The Sheffield Tab continued: “I’ve written a strongly worded letter to the vice-chancellor, and I hope others do too.”

The link to the petition can be found here.

The University of Sheffield has been contacted for comment

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