Demand for Adult and Community Education (ACE) courses in Dunedin is so high this year, the closing date for applications has been extended.
Logan Park High School ACE co-ordinator Soo Graham was surprised at the popularity of the courses, given the cuts to national funding and the resulting increased costs to students.
Government funding was reduced from about $16 million to $3 million in the Budget last year, which meant Kaikorai Valley College, Taieri College and Bayfield High School could no longer afford to run ACE courses.
About 30 tutoring staff in Dunedin lost their jobs.
Logan Park High School is now the only facility in Dunedin offering ACE courses, but that had come at a price, Ms Graham said.
The number of courses the school offered had to be reduced from 608 to 450.
The number of tutoring staff was cut from 33 to 18 and adult students would have to pay more for the courses.
"The majority of courses used to cost about $100. Now, some of them have gone up $20."
"I'm surprised there is so much interest, despite the extra cost.
"No-one's complained at all about the fee increases."
Ms Graham said applications had been scheduled to close on Wednesday.
She had received more than 100 telephone calls the following day from people inquiring if they could still enrol in courses.
"We've got a lot of courses that have filled up already. But we can still enrol people."
The closing date for enrolments had now been set for next Wednesday, she said.
"I'm really chuffed that a lot of regulars have dug deep into their pockets to continue their education.
"It shows how important ACE is to the community."
