A proposed shake-up of TAFE has students and parents worried about their future.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Under a proposal to be presented to the states and territories at a high-level meeting in March, the federal government would take over TAFE funding from the states.
The radical plan would see TAFE fees deregulated and TAFEs receiving the same levels of funding as private colleges in a bid to increase competition in the sector.
Former TAFE Directors Australia chairman Bruce Mackenzie said students would face higher costs and be saddled with increased debt if the proposals were adopted.
Nicolette Crowe, a nursing student at Griffith TAFE, said if feees went up she wouldn’t be able to afford her studies.
“It’s hard enough at the moment working and trying to fit my TAFE studies in, if prices went up it would limit me,” Ms Crowe said.
Imogen Battaglia said increased fees may see people having to sacrifice their dream.
“There are lots of mothers studying who are also trying to pay for their children’s education costs too,” Ms Battaglia said.
“Even once they’re qualified, there’s no guarantee of a job, so higher prices might make it too hard.”
The mother of a TAFE student, who asked not to be named, said the proposals were “dreadful”.
“The system’s broken as it is,” she said.
“When we went to enroll my son last year, they couldn’t even give us a price for the course. We could only get an informal quote of between $200 and $2000.”
The cost of the course turned out to be about $3200, but she also found out six months in to the course.
“I had a fit when they told me the full price on the phone,” the mother said.
“They said it was a discounted price and the full price was $8000.”
The woman questioned the government’s commitment to solving the problem of a skills shortage.
“How on earth will they ever get people into fields that aren’t high-paying?” she asked.
“My son’s course isn’t in a high-earning industry, how would people ever be able to earn enough to pay for the course if the fees went up?”
However, the frustrated mother pointed out she wasn’t upset with the staff, just the system.
“The standard of education at TAFE is spectacular,” she said.
“The teachers deserve every cent and even the confusion of the costs wasn’t the fault of the office staff, it’s the system they have to use.
“Education should be free, any money invested in the system will return greater dividends in the future.”