Distance education courses are being axed at Geelong's Gordon TAFE after the Baillieu government took the chainsaw to TAFEs across the state.

A letter's been sent to students saying funding subsidies for distance education programs have been cut, making many of the courses unviable.

The TAFE says existing students who enrolled in units within the last four weeks have the option of withdrawing and having their fees fully refunded.

The state government was originally planning on taking $100-million out of the TAFE budget but a modelling bungle has seen that figure soar to more than $300-million, meaning thousands of jobs and hundreds of courses will have to go.

The government says it’s actually increased funding to the training sector but much of the funding will be directed at private providers, many of whom have been accused of providing shoddy courses and rorting the system.