TAFEs deliver high quality education and training while private colleges fail
Reports today that thousands of students have been left with huge debts and no qualifications after the collapse of yet another private training company, demonstrate why taxpayer funds must be prioritised for our TAFEs.
“The vocational education and training loan system has been widely rorted by for-profit private training colleges,” said Meredith Peace, Victorian Branch President of the Australian Education Union.
“Almost on a daily basis we see new evidence the private provider model of vocational training delivery is broken beyond repair. When private training companies collapse it is students that are left bearing significant debt and without qualifications.
“Governments have failed to take the decisive steps needed to stop the rorting and ensure that tens of millions of dollars more of taxpayer funds are not wasted.
“The Andrews Government must redirect public funding away from dodgy private collages and to our TAFE institutes as their key response to the review of vocational education and training that was completed in December last year.
“We know that TAFEs are best placed to deliver high quality vocational education and training to make Victorians ready for employment.
“There have been countless examples of unscrupulous training outfits signing-up vulnerable jobseekers, claiming government subsidies and saddling the jobseeker with debt.
“Courses are usually delivered online, with minimum course hours rarely met, and too often students never complete the online modules at all. If they do, they certainly do not graduate with the skills they need to gain employment.
“We need a training system that can deliver for industries of the future. The only solution is to limit the amount of money private providers can claim from government at 30 percent of the overall VET funding budget.
“The rest of the funding must go to TAFEs. It is time the Victorian Government acted to guarantee 70 percent of VET funding for public TAFEs.
“Public TAFEs are trusted to deliver skilled graduates and must be properly resourced,” said Ms Peace.
Short URL: https://indiandownunder.com.au/?p=6288