Declining TAFE funding hits student waiting lists

Government funding for vocational education and training has declined by more than 12% between 2003 and 2008 according to two new reports from Australia Education Union (AEU).

AEU surveyed 2,600 teachers and managers from TAFEs across Australia. The survey was accompanied by a research paper from the Centre for the Economics of Education and Training (CEET) at Monash University.

The findings show that a lack of funding is impacting the availability of teaching resources, and increasing the number of students turned away because of inadequate training places. Some 46% of respondents said there were student waiting lists at their organisation.

The CEET report says that to reach COAG’s targets for increased qualifications, an additional $200 million must be spent on average every year from 2009-2020.

To view a media release about the research, as well as the full reports, click here.