Standing Committee on Employment, Education
and Workplace Relations
This document has been scanned from the original printed submission.
It may contain some errors
Submission 88
6 Erola Circle,
LINDFIELD 2070
18th November, 1997
I am writing to you in response to your article in the North Shore Times
regarding TAFE's role in education, especially courses of an academic
and not vocational nature.
I am currently employed by S.I.T. Randwick Campus in the PreVocational
Division. This division is responsible for delivering courses for the
2 Unit and 3 Unit HSC Examinations as well as Tertiary Preparation Certificate
(TPC), Certificate of General Education (CGE) Courses.
The Nature of our Students:
Most of the students that attend our classes are disadvantaged in some
way:
1. There are homeless students
2. Some students have been ejected from other educational institutions
eg schools because they have not conformed to the regulations.
3. Some students are attempting the HSC for the second time around, because
in the first instance they were immature or suffered from problems in
their home life.
4. There are students attending courses here at Randwick who are a mature
age" i.e. they wish to upgrade or change their careers by obtaining
extra qualifications.
5. Students that have mental or other disabilities that could not fit
into mainstream' education.
6. Unemployed people trying to upgrade their education in order to join
the workforce in the future.
7. Overseas students who are paying for an Australian qualification at
a government intstitution because they do not trust the worth of the qualifications
offered by commercial courses and wish to continue to University in this
country.
8. Students who have been victimised in a school situation.
We are providing "Second Chance" education for students who,
in the main, are disadvantaged, and could not afford commercial courses
or ' would be unable or unwilling to return to a school situation.
The cost to society will be great (in terms of unemployment, despair,
vandalism, crime) if these students are not given the opportunities to
obtain an education and upgrade their skills.
It is ludicrous to expect 'mature age' students and those with disabilities
to attend the local high schools to obtain their HSC qualifications. In
1997 Randwick TAFE had approximately 220 students sit for the HSC examinations;
in "economic rationalist" terms that would indicate a waste
of human resources if these students were not able to complete their HSC
at TAFE as these students would have been "locked out" of educational
opportunities forever.
TAFE provides the only link between the disadvantaged groups of people
that we service and the opportunities of attending university and upgrading
their skills. ln a world that values 'Multi-skilling', and 'Career Changes',
surely it is important that TAFE continue to provide this link for the
community as a whole.
The HSC Course and examination results are recognised and valued by the
business and academic community both within NSW, other states and overseas,
whereas, the TAFE equivalent TPC is neither known nor understood and will
never be recognised until standardisation of assessment procedures occurs
along with external testing.
Randwick TAFE has, over the years, provided many students who have performed
in the top ten positions in the State of NSW in the HSC Examination in
the "one year' and "two year' HSC courses. However, this issue
is really one of "access and equity" to education for all people,
of all abilities. It is important that all governments should be concerned
with social justice not just 'economic rationalist' principles.
The cutbacks in funding to Pre-vocational courses in SIT has meant that
many students will be unable to complete HSC courses in the one year.
It is important for these students to be able to study and to support
themselves with part-time jobs, that are usually of a very temporary nature.
In removing the option of the "one year" course, we are "locking
out" many students from study and compromising the viability of all
courses.
In conclusion I would like to remind you that the acronym TAFE stands
for "Technical and Further Education", it is the HSC Courses,
the TPC and CGE courses that are offered at TAFE, along with those courses
providing English as a Second Language/Languages that allow students to
undertake further education at a vocational and academic level.
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