Federal Labor has released the terms of reference for its proposed Inquiry into Post-Secondary Education in Australia. In her speech to the Universities Australia conference in Canberra yesterday, Labor Deputy Leader and Shadow Minister for Education Tanya Plibersek spoke about Labor’s plans, if they win government. These include:
- An additional $10 billion flow to universities over the next decade … nearly as much as the additional money we will invest into Australia’s public school system.
- Equity returns to the heart of the system and that we better address the needs of regional and remote Australia.
- $3.2 million over the next four years for mentoring and pathways programs in the 22 communities where we build Regional Study Hubs. The regional hubs will become places that build aspiration for tertiary study and that work with communities to develop new outreach, mentoring and tutoring programs. These place-based programs will be delivered by local TAFEs, high schools and community groups.
- A Regional and Remote Commissioner to our National Inquiry into Post-secondary education, responsible for developing strategies and policies to support regional students as well as regional TAFEs and universities.
Ms Plibersek called the Labor inquiry “as significant as Julia Gillard’s Bradley Review and Gough Whitlam’s Kangan Review,” and will focus on funding, regulation, teaching, research, student fees, international education, and infrastructure.
The specific terms of reference of are to examine and make recommendations on:
- Building a high quality, efficient, effective, and modern post-secondary education system in Australia.
- An equitable, sustainable, and transparent funding model for Australia’s post-secondary education system.
- Ensuring public institutions (TAFEs and universities) are at the centre of Australia’s post-secondary education system.
- Ensuring post-secondary education courses and qualifications are responsive to changes occurring in the labour market and society and remain fit-for-purpose.
- Ensuring students are able to access the institutions and courses they need to increase their skills, capabilities and knowledge without barriers to reaching their full potential.
- The appropriate links that should exist between post-secondary education and work; the role of workplaces as sites of high-quality learning; and portability of qualifications.
- Strengthening co-operation between government, educators, unions and business to ensure the apprenticeship system is high quality, accessible, can adapt to technological change, and encourages commitment and investment from all parties benefitting from the system.
- Increasing participation of underrepresented and disadvantaged Australians in post-secondary education.
- Addressing the unique needs of post-secondary students and institutions in regional and remote Australia.
- Ensuring Australia continues to have a strong, competitive, diverse and sustainable international education sector.
- Improving careers advice with appropriate value placed on vocational education and training.
- The adequacy of funding available for infrastructure in post-secondary sectors.
- The adequacy of national regulatory systems, including the roles and resourcing of relevant agencies, the mechanisms of institutional accountability, the qualifications framework and consumer protections for students.
Community Colleges Australia comment:
CCA has been in contact with Federal Labor, and has been assured that Australia's not-for-profit community education providers will be well-considered in the proposed Inquiry.
Labor's draft policy platform (pp. 102-103) states that "Labor will ensure our vocational educational and training system ... provides affordable, flexible adult and community education entry points to education and training, including language, literacy and numeracy programs."
