A long-term decline in New Zealand¡¯s 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ expertise, accelerated in?the latest round of?university course cuts, is?undermining engagement with the world¡¯s ascendant superpowers, according to?academics.

Researchers warned that the slashing of?language and culture programmes, in a?¡°bums on?seats¡± response to?sustained university underfunding, was torpedoing 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ proficiency assembled over decades.

Colleagues in Australia, where low enrolments have also forced language course closures, have bemoaned the erosion of?China expertise when the nation needs it most. The New Zealand situation is arguably worse because of an increasingly ¡°insular¡± mindset.

¡°We face a very sudden and significant decrease,¡± said Stephen Epstein, who directs the 51¹ú²úÊÓƵn Languages and Cultures Programme at Victoria 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Wellington (VUW). ¡°We run the danger of¡­negative economic consequences for the entire population.¡±

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Duncan Campbell, an adjunct teaching and research fellow at VUW, said there had been no tertiary level Chinese history course in New Zealand this year, for the first time in four decades. Next year will bring an end to courses in classical Chinese, the archaic language used in all pre-20th century texts, denying New Zealanders the necessary ¡°tools¡± for Sinological research.

¡°This is catastrophic, at the very moment that we¡¯re faced with an increasingly complex trading environment,¡± Dr?Campbell said. ¡°We¡¯re wandering naked into the negotiations.¡±

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VUW proposes to reduce staffing in 51¹ú²úÊÓƵn studies and to jettison research from foreign language programmes, including Chinese and Japanese. Its vice-chancellor, Nic Smith, said that if these courses were spared, cuts would be needed elsewhere. ¡°We can¡¯t afford to take on all the obligations that we think are important for the country,¡± he said. ¡°We have to make difficult choices.¡±

The 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Otago is cutting back its language courses and has ¡°disestablished¡± its 51¹ú²úÊÓƵn studies majors and minors ¡°in the face of decreasing student numbers¡±, said Jessica Palmer, its pro vice-chancellor for humanities. Auckland 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Technology has closed its Japanese studies programme despite deferring plans for widespread course cuts.

Academics said the moves were part of a decades-long pattern of courses being cut and retiring lecturers not being replaced, while specialist programmes in key countries and languages have given way to generalist ¡°global studies¡± courses.

As long ago as 2003 a? by the New Zealand 51¹ú²úÊÓƵn Studies Society found that the field was in decline, with few specialists on south-east 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ and almost none on central or western 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ. New Zealand had only a?¡°handful¡± of 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ scholars with research expertise in key fields such as economics, business and law. Dr?Epstein said the situation had deteriorated since then.

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Report co-author Pauline Keating, a retired lecturer in Chinese history, said the current unpopularity of Chinese language study ¨C prompted by students¡¯ disapproval of human rights abuses in the country ¨C could prove short-lived. She said the complexity of diplomatic dealings with Beijing was an argument for, not against, the cultivation of China expertise.

Pacific Island studies have been insulated from university course cuts, prompting resentment among 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ and Europe specialists. Dr Campbell said it would be ¡°politically unacceptable¡± for university administrators to cut programmes in M¨¡ori or Pacifica studies as New Zealand began to?acknowledge the ¡°dark parts of our past¡±.

But he said 51¹ú²úÊÓƵn studies played a similar role, as the country came to grips with a century of?. Dr Epstein said that with 51¹ú²úÊÓƵn New Zealanders almost as numerous as the M¨¡ori population, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵn studies was important to the country¡¯s social cohesion.

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com