Murray
Follower of Odin
NB - i am a strong Union supporter and future ALP voter so ... well it will explain my sources etc.
PM's New Tech Colleges Threaten Country Secondary Schools
05 October 2004
Thousands of year 11 and 12 students in country secondary schools and TAFEs will miss out on vocational education if the Coalition's proposed new tech colleges go ahead. The Coalition proposal will reduce funding to secondary schools for vocational education programs and restrict choice and diversity of year 11 and 12 subjects for these students.
Visiting Geelong TAFE in country Victoria today, ACTU President Sharan Burrow said:
"The Prime Minister's plan to set up new tech colleges poses a serious threat to the viability of local secondary schools as well as local TAFE colleges in country areas.
The Coalition is planning to set up 15 new private 'techs' in country areas as part of a network of 24 trades-oriented colleges that will duplicate the work currently done by public TAFE institutes.
The proposed new technical colleges will compete with local TAFE colleges and take 7,200 year 11 and 12 students away from surrounding schools. This will threaten the viability of many subjects and educational programs for the VCE students that remain in local schools.
The Prime Minister's plan is bad and wasteful policy that is driven by politics rather than a genuine desire to give Australians in country areas decent educational and work opportunities.
The PM's tech colleges will cost the taxpayer $289 million. This is almost ten times ($20,444 a year) as much per student as it costs in TAFE ($2,235) and yet, even then, the Coalition cannot guarantee that students in the new tech colleges will not be charged fees to attend.
Only 7,200 students will have access to the tech colleges but if the money was put into local TAFE colleges as many as 70,000 students could benefit. Instead of undermining local schools and colleges the Coalition should boost the vocational education courses that already exist.
Labor's plan for more than 50,000 extra TAFE places and $2.4 billion more for struggling government & independent schools will lead to significantly better education & work opportunities for young people in country areas. For example, twice as many students in country and regional Australia are likely to benefit from Labor's boost to TAFE than from the Coalition's plan."
(for more see http://www.actu.asn.au )
Aim Higher - Learning, Training and Better Jobs for More Australians - Stopping The 25% HECS Increase
A Labor Government will recall the Australian Parliament before Christmas to stop the Howard Government's 25 per cent increase in HECS.
This is the only way in which Australian students and families can avoid Mr Howard's increase in student debt in 2005.
Labor must be elected and the Parliament must sit, before it's too late.
Labor's plan to stop the 25 per cent increase in HECS is an important part of Federal Labor's plan to give many more Australians the opportunity to go to university and TAFE.
John Howard is forcing Australian families to make up for $5 billion in funding cuts through 25 per cent HECS hikes and more and more full fee degrees, costing as much as $210,000.
The Howard Government is pricing too many young people out of a university education and turning away tens of thousands of talented Australians from university and TAFE each year by not funding enough places.
A Federal Labor Government will fund our universities properly, keep a university degree affordable and increase the number of university and TAFE places for Australian students.
A Federal Labor Government will:
Stop John Howard's 25 per cent HECS hikes, abolish full fee degrees costing as much as $210,000 and keep university affordable for ordinary Australians.
Relieve the financial burden on students by extending rent assistance to Austudy recipients from 2006 and progressively lowering the age of independence for students on Youth Allowance to 23 years.
Give more Australians the opportunity to get a university or TAFE qualification by creating 23,000 extra commencing university places and 20,000 extra commencing TAFE places to be distributed throughout Australia each year by 2009.
Properly index university grants to give universities a secure and compounding revenue base and provide $912 million additional funding by 2009.
Establish a competitive $809 million fund over five years to encourage universities' reform and transition to twenty-first century learning institutions.
Establish a $215 million Community Engagement Fund over five years to support regional, rural and outer-suburban universities' leadership role in local communities.
A Federal Labor Government will also address national skill shortages, increase equity in university participation and secure the foundations for high standards and improved quality.
The policy announced today includes updated costings spanning the forward estimates period following the 2004-05 budget. The net budget impact of Aim Higher is $1.2 billion over the forward estimates.
Education is the first rung on Labor's ladder of opportunity.
Aim Higher: Learning, Training and Better Jobs for More Australians will deliver more university and TAFE opportunities for Australians.
(for more see http://www.alp.org.au )
THIS IS POLICY NOT PROPAGANDA!
PM's New Tech Colleges Threaten Country Secondary Schools
05 October 2004
Thousands of year 11 and 12 students in country secondary schools and TAFEs will miss out on vocational education if the Coalition's proposed new tech colleges go ahead. The Coalition proposal will reduce funding to secondary schools for vocational education programs and restrict choice and diversity of year 11 and 12 subjects for these students.
Visiting Geelong TAFE in country Victoria today, ACTU President Sharan Burrow said:
"The Prime Minister's plan to set up new tech colleges poses a serious threat to the viability of local secondary schools as well as local TAFE colleges in country areas.
The Coalition is planning to set up 15 new private 'techs' in country areas as part of a network of 24 trades-oriented colleges that will duplicate the work currently done by public TAFE institutes.
The proposed new technical colleges will compete with local TAFE colleges and take 7,200 year 11 and 12 students away from surrounding schools. This will threaten the viability of many subjects and educational programs for the VCE students that remain in local schools.
The Prime Minister's plan is bad and wasteful policy that is driven by politics rather than a genuine desire to give Australians in country areas decent educational and work opportunities.
The PM's tech colleges will cost the taxpayer $289 million. This is almost ten times ($20,444 a year) as much per student as it costs in TAFE ($2,235) and yet, even then, the Coalition cannot guarantee that students in the new tech colleges will not be charged fees to attend.
Only 7,200 students will have access to the tech colleges but if the money was put into local TAFE colleges as many as 70,000 students could benefit. Instead of undermining local schools and colleges the Coalition should boost the vocational education courses that already exist.
Labor's plan for more than 50,000 extra TAFE places and $2.4 billion more for struggling government & independent schools will lead to significantly better education & work opportunities for young people in country areas. For example, twice as many students in country and regional Australia are likely to benefit from Labor's boost to TAFE than from the Coalition's plan."
(for more see http://www.actu.asn.au )
Aim Higher - Learning, Training and Better Jobs for More Australians - Stopping The 25% HECS Increase
A Labor Government will recall the Australian Parliament before Christmas to stop the Howard Government's 25 per cent increase in HECS.
This is the only way in which Australian students and families can avoid Mr Howard's increase in student debt in 2005.
Labor must be elected and the Parliament must sit, before it's too late.
Labor's plan to stop the 25 per cent increase in HECS is an important part of Federal Labor's plan to give many more Australians the opportunity to go to university and TAFE.
John Howard is forcing Australian families to make up for $5 billion in funding cuts through 25 per cent HECS hikes and more and more full fee degrees, costing as much as $210,000.
The Howard Government is pricing too many young people out of a university education and turning away tens of thousands of talented Australians from university and TAFE each year by not funding enough places.
A Federal Labor Government will fund our universities properly, keep a university degree affordable and increase the number of university and TAFE places for Australian students.
A Federal Labor Government will:
Stop John Howard's 25 per cent HECS hikes, abolish full fee degrees costing as much as $210,000 and keep university affordable for ordinary Australians.
Relieve the financial burden on students by extending rent assistance to Austudy recipients from 2006 and progressively lowering the age of independence for students on Youth Allowance to 23 years.
Give more Australians the opportunity to get a university or TAFE qualification by creating 23,000 extra commencing university places and 20,000 extra commencing TAFE places to be distributed throughout Australia each year by 2009.
Properly index university grants to give universities a secure and compounding revenue base and provide $912 million additional funding by 2009.
Establish a competitive $809 million fund over five years to encourage universities' reform and transition to twenty-first century learning institutions.
Establish a $215 million Community Engagement Fund over five years to support regional, rural and outer-suburban universities' leadership role in local communities.
A Federal Labor Government will also address national skill shortages, increase equity in university participation and secure the foundations for high standards and improved quality.
The policy announced today includes updated costings spanning the forward estimates period following the 2004-05 budget. The net budget impact of Aim Higher is $1.2 billion over the forward estimates.
Education is the first rung on Labor's ladder of opportunity.
Aim Higher: Learning, Training and Better Jobs for More Australians will deliver more university and TAFE opportunities for Australians.
(for more see http://www.alp.org.au )
THIS IS POLICY NOT PROPAGANDA!
