The New Zealand government will bail out battling universities, topping them up with an extra $NZ128 million just a month after a major budget increase.
In recent months, the University of Otago and Victoria University of Wellington (VUW) have proposed hundreds of job cuts, as well as the end of many courses due to budgetary pressures.
The Dunedin-based university wants to shed $NZ60 million ($A55 million) off its annual budget and is offering redundancies with a view to losing hundreds of staff.
VUW vice chancellor Nic Smith has proposed axing 275 jobs, including whole subjects including secondary teaching, several languages and geophysics.
Both universities and the government blame low enrolments - including from international students due to COVID-19 - for much of the shortfall.
On Tuesday, Finance Minister Grant Robertson and Education Minister Jan Tinetti announced the rescue package, which will go to New Zealand's eight universities, and other degree-granting institutions.
"While recent focus has been on Victoria and Otago Universities, other institutions have previously managed declines in student numbers. We did not want to disadvantage those institutions," Ms Tinetti said.
The funding is a four per cent boost to tuition subsidies in 2024 and 2025, on top of a five per cent increase provided in May's budget.
With an extra $NZ249 million ($A239 million) provided in the budget, the total boost is $NZ377 million ($A348 million) over two years.
Mr Robertson said the universities had "institutional autonomy" on their budgets, but suggested the extra nine per cent in funding "does give them the opportunity to have another look at the proposals that have been made".
The government will also review its higher education funding, with decisions to kick in for the 2025 academic year.
"I do think there are reasonable questions to ask about how money has been spent in recent times," Mr Robertson said.
"On campuses around the country, many of the staff are affected by proposed cuts have expressed exactly those concerns."
