Monday, October 31, 2005

From letters to The Age Education supplement 31 October

Get It Right Minister

The article "Bellyache for TAFE" quotes the minister for Vocational Education and Training as stating that "80% of work done by TAFEs isn't about trade related training, which is what the Commonwealth funds, it's about recreational pursuits". These comments show an extraordinary failure on his part to understand his portfolio. TAFEs only use government funding for occupationally relevant programs for artisans, para-professionals and the disadvantaged.

Rather than denigrate the students in TAFE, the minister would better serve the Australian community if he sensibly informed himself about vocational education and began to address issues such apprenticeship attrition rates, the fiasco, confusion and camelback of the AQTF (Australian Qualification Framework), and curriculum reform.
Bruce McKenzie
Chief Executive Officer
Homesglen Institute of TAFE

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