Just Education
I struggle every week with my finances. I get paid the bare minimum wage and I can only work once a week due to my timetable. I am constantly worrying about the huge debt I am getting into: how am I going to be able to pay this money back? Constantly having to think ahead to make sure I have just enough money to afford the next field trip, textbook or put petrol in my car so I can actually make it to my classes. I even tried to condense my timetable so that I can save on petrol.
(Quote from female, full-time undergraduate) – From 2007 presentation by Professor Richard James
at the What’s Fair in Education forum held October 2007
Education is not the only answer to social problems but it plays an important role by assisting people to learn more about themselves and how they can contribute to the broader community. People who are poor, particularly Indigenous and rural Australians, need more educational opportunities (and extra help when they get into education).
JustEducation is for people who think that tertiary education and training is a cornerstone of our community. Strong support is needed for disadvantaged members of our community to get into tertiary education, thrive when they get there - and secure valuable opportunities beyond.
The Uniting Church in Australia commitment to tertiary education (and training)
So what is wrong?
At the What’s Fair in Education forum Professor James delivered a sobering presentation on the broad socio-economic status (SES) imbalances in Australian higher education (SES is generally based on students’ home address postcode but can also refer to the educational levels and occupations of students’ parents). Participants in the forum were shocked to hear that the likelihood of medium SES Australians attending university is only 56 per cent of the likelihood of high SES Australians doing so.
Also, more students are taking out loans, missing classes to work and saying that work is having an adverse effect on their studies.
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[To take action on tertiary education and poverty go here]
International students - economic contribution
The AGE reports (11/12/09):
International tourist numbers are dropping (with figures for the three months to September 2008 showing 40,000 fewer than in the same period in 2007). In 2008 the economic contribution by all visitors grew by 7 per cent to $24.5 billion on the previous year (2007), although that growth was almost entirely driven by the education market which accounts for a third of the expenditure.
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Overseas students exploited
David Rood
December 22, 2008
http://www.theage.com.au
INTERNATIONAL students in Victoria are regularly underpaid, face other exploitation in the workplace and are increasingly given misleading information by offshore student recruiters, a State Government inquiry has found.
The report into the welfare of foreign students, to be released today, reveals widespread flaws in the treatment of students and warns a lack of accommodation threatens the growth of the lucrative market.
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Comment from Steve G - privatisation of TAFE
Hello Everyone,
With the collapse of freemarket financial structures across the planet, our government sees fit to guarantee the safety of banks but not the durability of infrastructure like TAFE to ensure that Australia is skilled for this century.
Well, apart from industrial action and other forms of reaction to both the State and federal Government’s myopic perspective on TAFE I believe that we can do something more.
The community expects TAFE staff to protest the changes and it expects us to go on strike. With our current wage struggle DET management is threatening to take away our conditions (even to take away 4 weeks leave) using the grounds of “community expectations”. Let’s face it, the non teacher will think it is reasonable to only have 6 weeks annual leave(compared to their 4 weeks leave) and for teachers to teach more hours because they do not know what it is like to be teachers and what is involved in our profession. The Government knows this and it will use “community expectations” to make out that we are “greedy”. Never mind that our DET boss was just given an automatic 4% increase without any demonstrated productivity gains. So, our battle is in the perceptual arena, it is a Public Relations exercise. We need to gain the support of the community for both the wage claim and the survival of TAFE.
I believe that TAFE has an amazing pool of talented and highly skilled people who teach and train the community but who can easily direct these talents and skills to produce a mega spectacular “Event”.
Not only do we have them now but we also have retired teachers and students who have graduated who will be more than pleased to be able to use their skills to save TAFE.
This “Event” can include performances by musicians, poets, artists…it can include “free” culinary delights, installation experiential pieces, demonstrations of stuff we do, Information Technology media presentations using the latest equipment. This Festival for TAFE can draw upon our expertise and skills in so many areas. Obviously we can ask our students to assist.
We can use TAFE equipment to do this…it will be our way of procuring the “means of production” for the community. After all we are Public Servants and our masters are the Public.
For the Event to have an effective impact it would have to be done not only in Newcastle but also in other centres like Sydney and preferably across the country…simultaneously. This way we can use the communications technology to connect live with the other centres in the country.
You can imagine the impact that this would have in the media. We can coordinate the web side of things as well and maybe make some connections with other educators across the world. Teachers and supporters from the community can tell Australia and the world about TAFE and why restructuring it out of existence is bad for all of us.
Anyway, everything I said above are just ideas floating about in my skull. I’m sure that if we want to do something we can come up with some amazing stuff.
Please don’t think “yeh, great, where’s the money coming from ?” because I know from experience with other projects I have been involved in, that the funds and stuff will come if we know what we want and have the passion to fire it up. Money and stuff follows energy passion and love for what we do and hope for.
So, how about it? Are we just going to roll over and let TAFE be destroyed or are we going to fight with all of our imaginative force and creativity to save TAFE for our community?
If you are interested in this idea let me know by private email still.seeking@gmail.com and if there is enough interest we may light the fuse….
Visit http://save-tafe-festivals.blogspot.com/ and leave a comment.
all the best,
steve g
TAFE TA Peace Officer
Hunter Institute, TAFE NSW
From Privatise TAFE (articles), 2008/12/18 at 2:38 PM
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Students face racism, exploitation
Students face racism, exploitation
Sushi Das
December 8, 2008
Source: The AGE
INTERNATIONAL students with jobs are being paid less than Australians, face discrimination when applying for rental properties and are treated “less favourably” by teachers, an inquiry has been told.
Reports of racial discrimination, students being made to work for no pay for a month before being given paid employment and severe overcrowding in rental properties are included in two submissions to a State Government taskforce examining the problems within the international education industry.
The submissions, by the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission and the Tenants Union of Victoria, call for urgent action to tackle the problems.
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Student Housing Action Cooperative
The Student Housing Action Cooperative (SHAC) has been occupying a set of formerly disused terrace houses which belong to the University of Melbourne for the last few months.
For further information
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Education at the Edges profiled program in the news
Mates make most of learning chance
Dewi Cooke, December 1, 2008
Lawyer Simon McDonald and homeless man Ian Gwynne struck up an instant friendship through the Catalyst-Clemente education program…
More information
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Unlicensed agents luring students
Sushi Das
November 25, 2008
TRAINING colleges are using unlicensed agents overseas to recruit students to study in Australia.
There are widespread claims within Australia’s international education industry that some private training colleges are making huge profits by enrolling fee-paying students whom education agents recruit overseas.
The Age believes the agents charge students or their parents thousands of dollars to enrol them in Australian institutions. The agents promise abundant jobs, easily available accommodation and a fast track to permanent residency.
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University standards on the decline, admit teachers
University standards on the decline, admit teachers
Farrah Tomazin
November 20, 2008
UNIVERSITY teachers admit the quality of education students are getting is worse than it was five years ago, placing growing pressure on the Rudd Government as it prepares for a massive shake-up for the nation’s tertiary sector.
- Tertiary standards on decline: teachers
- Staff survey paints bleak picture
- 60% say funding a major concern
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Apprentice wins sexual harassment case against male boss
Apprentice wins sexual harassment case against male boss
Ewin Hannan | November 18, 2008
Article from: The Australian
A MALE boss sexually harassed a male apprentice by repeatedly inviting him to shower with him, touching his genitals, and grabbing him from behind while simulating sex and making pig noises.
Christopher Thomas won $35,000 in damages after a tribunal found his former boss, Dean Alexiou, sexually harassed him between 2003 and 2006.
The tribunal found Mr Alexiou appeared to be motivated by either a desire to bully Mr Thomas in front of his co-workers, or a belief his behaviour was an appropriate form of workplace horseplay.
The harassment started soon after Mr Thomas began work as a 17-year-old apprentice engine reconditioner for the Melbourne company Westpoint Cylinder Heads in January 2003.
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Uni politics in fight for life
Uni politics in fight for life
Josephine Tovey
November 10, 2008
THE CHANGES on campuses from voluntary student unionism, changing demographics and new technology have also changed student politics.
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