NEW funding to support “innovation and structural reform” in the TAFE system is too little too late for Victoria University, according to critics.
The Australian Education Union last week warned that the state government’s promise of $50 million a year over the next four years would fail to undo the damage already inflicted at VU TAFE.
But VU hopes that part of the $200 million funding boost to TAFEs will be spread across its 11 campuses, including Melton.
Deputy vice-chancellor Anne Jones said VU welcomed the funding.
“The west of Melbourne needs some of that funding to adjust to changes resulting from the loss of TAFE funding. We are also looking for support to further develop our plan for a nationally significant trades academy in Melbourne.”
Higher Education and Skills Minister Peter Hall said government changes to funding meant more students were enrolling in vocational education and training.
“There are now 670,438 government-funded enrolments across Victoria, compared to 426,905 in 2010,” he said.
AEU vice-president Greg Barclay said a Victorian TAFE Association report showed courses including sport and fitness, hospitality, business, tourism and boat building had been cut due to a $32 million shortfall for VU TAFE out of more than $300 million statewide.
Friends of VU spokesman Paul Adams cast doubts on whether the institution would receive any of the new funding. He said he believed the money would be used for restructuring and changes needed for regional universities.
“To get back to where it was, VU would need 50 per cent of the funding on offer over the next three years, which just isn’t realistic,” he said.
“The way I would interpret this move is that it’s recognition the state government really stuffed up.”
— with Stephanie Zevenbergen
