A group of 10 TAFE students from Bendigo and Dandenong met with the Victorian minister for skills and workplace participation, Jacinta Allan, at her Bendigo office on November 6. The meeting was arranged after a student protest weeks earlier.
The minister intended to convince the students of the merits of the government's Skills Reform package for TAFEs. However, it was clear by the end of the meeting that the students were not convinced.
Of the 10 students who attended the meeting, most are directly and adversely affected by the changes being rolled out in TAFEs across Victoria.
Some of the changes include: cutting concessions for those who hold a diploma or advanced diploma qualification and want to study at the same or a lower level; big fee rises (of up to 182% for some courses); and the introduction of a HECS style loan scheme.
The changes came into effect in January and will be rolled out over the next four years.
Those students at the meeting not directly affected were there to voice concerns that the changes will discourage people from enrolling in a TAFE course in the future. One student told Allan he thought many young people would choose to stay on the dole.
Another student, a single mother of three, said she wanted get off the poverty line — not continue to merely scrape by day to day.
She said the new earning threshold for TAFE loan repayments, $42,000 a year, would mean she would continue to struggle.
Kyra Bethell, who has a lapsed teaching degree, told the minister that because she has been unable to find suitable, regular employment, she has been unable to pay back her university HECS debt.
She told the minister her debt had increased from the initial $5000 to $8500 and she did not want to be burdened with any more debt to get an education. Holding outdated or redundant degrees is a big issue for many students. These old qualifications mean students don't qualify for concessions under the new rules.
Allan said higher fees were justified because it was not equitable for TAFE fees to be as low as $55.
Cheryl Floyd, a student who had worked as a hairdresser for 30 years, asked the minister why government support for students was too much to ask when she had devoted her life to being an active member of the community.
Allan responded to the criticisms by saying "provisions" had been made for just such circumstances. She said training providers could grant fee exemption at their discretion.
What if an application for fee exemption was rejected? The minister responded that it was a personal choice for each student as to whether they would take on the debt, but they could always approach their local member for help.
Clearly the choice to not take on the debt would be a choice to abandon study.
The changes to the TAFE system are due for review next year. The students left the minister's office wondering if their stories will be remembered or forgotten.