Plan to jettison TAFE?

on Nov22 2009.. by Press | Print the article

STATE GOVERNMENT MUST END ITS WAR ON TAFE

The Greens called on NSW Education Minister Verity Firth to negotiate with TAFE teachers and abandon plans that would see standards driven down to the lowest common denominator.

Commenting on widespread industrial action by TAFE teachers against draconian changes to their working conditions, Greens NSW MP John Kaye said TAFE teachers and staff across NSW are defending the standards of post-school education.

They are standing up for the future economic health of the state against a short-sighted push from Education Minister Verity Firth and her department to cut costs and undermine the system.

Professional educators have been forced into industrial action by the Rees government’s obsession with placing the bean counters ahead of community education and training.

Minister Firth’s push to increase TAFE teacher workloads by 20 percent will mean less time for students and fewer teachers.

This comes on top of stripping back requirements for teaching qualifications, destroying non-commercial courses and increasing student fees.

The government is hollowing out TAFE to cut costs and balance its budget. It is robbing working Australians of their chance to succeed in a tough economy.

Post-school education should not be run as a money making business but as an investment in the future of the state.

It is time to end the war on TAFE and on TAFE teachers.

The Minister should abandon the punitive conditions imposed by the Industrial Relations Commission and negotiate with teachers and their union for a settlement that respects their professionalism and secures a strong future for the TAFE system," Dr Kaye said.

Press is the author | Email this author | All posts by Press | Topic: State, TAFE, Teachers | Tags: None

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