02 November 2011
Good news for TAFE at last
The Gillard Government has stepped in to stop universities from poaching TAFE students, giving much needed relief to institutes reeling from cuts and competition.
Higher Education Minister Chris Evans yesterday announced that he'd be putting a cap on the number of diplomas and advanced diplomas that universities can offer from 2012.
He said the university sector should not "expand at the expense of TAFEs and other vocational education and training providers" when the caps come off degree courses next year.
VET providers and universities should complement each other in the courses they offer, he said.
That is good news at last for TAFEs. It won't stop the poaching but it should slow it down and end the open slather for students.
We have seen a worrying increase in the number of VET courses being offered by universities, which enjoy student funding up to 50% higher than TAFEs. Indeed, it was an issue flagged up in the Essential Services Commission report last month.
ESC warned that "distortions" in funding "create a risk that students and dual sector providers will abandon the VET system in favour of the higher education system, to the extent that some VET providers may find student numbers for some courses become unviable."
The universities have squealed at the news but it's about time that a minister realised that TAFEs are struggling on an unlevel playing field — even if that minister is in Canberra.
We've seen what competition from low-cost private providers has done to TAFEs and the Baillieu Government has twisted the knife by cutting TAFE funding.
It's time our ministers in Spring Street got the message that unfair competition is crippling TAFE and acted to ease our pain.
— Posted by Greg Barclay, AEU deputy vice president, TAFE
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