Andrea Dawkins MP | Greens Education spokesperson
The leaked TAFE plans point to the removal of state responsibility for TAFE, under a new Federal government plan to deregulate the sector.
This would be a huge blow to Tasmanian teachers and students already struggling with uncertainty.
State and federal governments share cost of vocational training, but the leaked plans would have our TAFEs in direct competition with private organisations for federal funding.
This is a blatant attempt to privatise vocational training by stealth.
Pitting TAFE against private entities for funding will not ensure better training, but would ensure students leave courses with bigger debts.
Instead of deregulating the industry, both levels of government should make sure assessment of student eligibility for training is clear in the National Training Guidelines.
The devious tactics some VET service providers employ to sign up students and get government funding is proof they value profits over training outcomes. We're not talking about small change, last year it was over $3 billon.
TAFE must be adequately funded to continually improve its delivery of training. Destroying the TAFE model through deregulation is not the answer.