TAFE under-funding a voting issue, says national poll

An ALP policy which includes substantial investment in public schools and TAFE would be a vote winner, an Australian Education Union (AEU) poll has revealed.

76 per cent of soft voters (people who may change their vote), and 64 per cent of overall respondents in a national survey of 500 people agreed that the Howard Government has gone down the wrong track on education and if the ALP put up a policy which included substantial investment in public schools and TAFE that would be reason enough to vote for them.

The poll also found:

• 94 per cent of all respondents agree that "providing extra funds for TAFE is essential to train more Australians to meet the skills crisis"
• 80 per cent of soft voters agree that "one of the biggest mistakes the Howard Government has made is slashing funding to TAFE, making it harder to fix the skills crisis".

When asked, 80 per cent of all respondents agreed with the AEU claim that at least an additional $470 million a year was needed to increase TAFE places, improve services and reduce fees and charges.

The AEU released the results of the poll with its national TAFE claim on August 31.

The claim calls for a massive increase in funding (Education, September 3), review of infrastructure and capital requirements in the TAFE system, and a national summit to consider student service provision and relief from fees and charges. The claim also proposes a quality improvement fund to address unacceptably high levels of casual employment and professional development for TAFE teachers

AEU Federal President Pat Byrne said Australians were not getting the TAFE system they deserve.

"In the lead up to the federal election, we have to ask whether we really want a TAFE system which is turning away students at the same time as employers are saying that there is a growing skills crisis," Ms Byrne said.

"There is no dispute that the Federal Government has neglected TAFE by reducing its funding every year it has been in office."

AEU Federal TAFE President Linda Simon said: "The Federal Government has turned its back on TAFE and made it harder to train Australians to address the skills shortage," said.

"Sixty per cent of teachers are not permanent and some colleges have facilities that are sub-standard and not suited to providing the training we need to tackle the skills shortage.

"Instead of funding our TAFE system, the Government has tried to establish Australian Technical Colleges which has so far been a giant waste of taxpayers' money."

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Last Modified: 13 Sep 2007