Extra dollars being thrown at public schools is all well and good, but what about TAFE?
This is the question being asked by Labor candidate for Heathcote, Maryanne Stuart, who recently held a community forum to give parents and teachers a chance to discuss the region’s ‘wish list’ for education.
Ms Stuart says a key concern raised was the loss of opportunities for students to engage in vocational education, and the need for more teacher support.
She says the NSW government’s commitment this month to spend additional funds on public schools, was filling a void left gaping by the federal government.
The state government is providing an additional $6.4 billion to 2027 for schools from next year, bringing the state’s total investment to $148 billion for government and non-government schools.
“It happened because the state government had to fill in where the federal government didn’t,” Ms Stuart said.
“In our electorate, there are schools that are at capacity and we have a massive backlog. This is where we are saying that funding priorities are wrong – it’s money that could be going towards building projects.
“When we were in office, we were building on average five new schools each year. If the federal government was providing this funding, then the state could use this money for other projects.”
One of those projects she says, is ensuring the long-term confidence in local TAFE institutions.
NSW Teachers Federation TAFE union organiser Rob Long, says that since March 2011, Sydney TAFE Institute has “deleted” 263 permanent teaching and support staff positions.
He says job losses from Loftus, Gymea and St George have included five commercial cookery positions, 11 IT teachers, 14 in accounting and finance, 12 literacy and numeracy staff, and in April this year, a further two head teachers were made redundant in sport and fitness.
“This has been sourced from our TAFE consultation correspondence with NSW Teachers Federation regarding the change management process, and we have kept all the details since 2013 when the redundancies started,” Mr Long said.
“This does not count the loss of casual teachers that have lost some or all of their teaching.”
He also said rising fee courses has deterred students from enrolling.
“Our local campuses are critical skills area of trade,” Mr Long said.
“There are still rumours of Loftus disappearing and that is unsettling because it makes teachers feel uncertain. If we lose it, students – often apprentice chefs who are not of a driving age and are working difficult hours, or those with a disability, will have to travel.”
Loftus parent Mike Southon says while the state’s funding announcement into public schools is positive, he fears for the future of his children’s education after primary school.
“I support the public system – it’s excellent, but I’d like to see better buildings at high schools,” he said.
“My kids are only starting school but one day they might not want uni, they may want to do a trade, and we have a skills shortage.”
De La Salle Senior College Cronulla teacher, Peter Moore, who also represents the Independent Education Union, agrees, and also says more support for teachers is needed.
“Vocational learning is big at our school – there’s definite interest for students who aren’t academically oriented because it gives them variety,” he said.
“But as a teacher, I see too much emphasis on data collection. Teachers have ever-increasing loads to satisfy the government. The burden has worsened with paperwork and individual learning plans. A lot of professional learning development is actually designed to satisfy compliance and accreditation.”
Assistant Skills Minister Adam Marshall says as the minister responsible for TAFE NSW, he had made it “abundantly clear on numerous occasions that Loftus TAFE will remain open and operational.”
“There are no ifs or buts,” he said. “This is nothing more than a handful of people trying to score cheap political points ahead of the election.”
“These persistent lies are turning future teachers and students off TAFE. It’s time these individuals got behind our hard working teachers and students and talked up TAFE.”
“As they would very well know, VET course fees in NSW are capped and standardised across the state by Training Services NSW. The notion there has been course fee increases at Loftus TAFE is a complete fabrication and utterly laughable.”
“If they had real concerns about the future of Loftus TAFE then they would come straight to me and I could address their concerns.”