FEMALE students in the west will be severely disadvantaged by the state government’s TAFE funding cuts, a new report reveals.
Equating the $290 million cuts with an act of violence, TAFE supporters and educators said they would “enshrine sexism” in the western suburbs.
The Victorian TAFE Association study found that funding would be cut by up to 85 per cent for courses popular with women, compared to 6 per cent for courses popular with men. The analysis compared funding for courses such as hospitality, retail, agriculture and bricklaying.
Victoria University, the west’s biggest TAFE provider, has lost more than $32 million in funding and slashed 80 vocational courses and more than 100 teaching jobs.
VU last week announced further cuts following the withdrawal of the youth guarantee supplement, which supports disadvantaged students in TAFE courses. Funding for the program was stripped from $2 million to $680,000.
Student Miriam Bah, 28, who is completing a double diploma in community services and community development, said she chose VU because of its access to English language programs. The Liberian migrant said the axing of courses and teachers was a blow for women of migrant and refugee backgrounds.
“There are so many women in the west where English isn’t their first language . . . many don’t even know how to write,” she said.
“A lot of them also come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and going back to study at TAFE is the only pathway they can take to improve their education and join the working industry.
“I fear that without these courses women like me arriving in Australia won’t have an opportunity to create a better life for themselves and reach their dreams.”
Victorian TAFE Association executive director David Williams said the impact on women followed one of the most “educationally retrograde” decisions made by any government.
VU community development teacher Margarita Windisch said the cuts would “enshrine sexism” in the community.
“It is specific discrimination against women. It’s harder for women because many leave the workforce when they have children. They need further education and skills training to get back into the workforce,” she said.
“We have a lot of women in Brimbank who are of non-English-speaking background, single mothers, disadvantaged women . . . by taking away the opportunity to have public education we are marginalising them further.”
Friends of VU spokesman Paul Adams said TAFE education was an agent of social change. “It improves the lives and circumstance of women in the west,” he said.
“Taking that away from women is an act of violence because it reduces social mobility and the ability to improve their situation, and it destroys hope.”
Dr Adams believed the education cuts would lead to more problems in the community.
“It’s no accident that there is a $400 million prison being built in the west, but funding for TAFE can’t be maintained.”
State Skills Minister Peter Hall said the TAFE association’s claims were “outrageous”. He said reforms to the sector were designed to drive uptake in courses that provided meaningful employment for graduates.
“The TAFE association has looked at 10 courses undertaken mostly by women and in at least some cases it lied about the impact of the recent reforms.”
