Tauondi Aboriginal College faces budget cuts after losing major government contract
Tauondi Aboriginal College has taught Indigenous people for 47 years. But the State Government has slashed its funding, leaving students and staff worried about the future.
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One of the country’s oldest Aboriginal colleges is facing funding cuts that would put its future in doubt.
Tauondi Aboriginal College, which has provided vocational and cultural training to a primarily Aboriginal student-base for 47 years, is set to have more than half of its $2.5 million budget taken away by the State Government.
The Port Adelaide-based college had a contract with the Government to provide vocational training, which it lost on July 1.
Teachers and students are rallying at the Lipson St campus on Wednesday morning to oppose the cuts.
But the Government says it is working with the college’s board to find a new funding model.
Tauondi offers courses in hospitality, community services, IT, business and Aboriginal languages, as well as short courses including Aboriginal culture and mentorship.
Staff have already been called into meetings to discuss their futures, with some expected to be retrenched.
Students range in age from 16 up to people in their 50s.
Cultural trainer and assessor Vicki Hartman, who has worked at the college for 12 years, said students were “quite concerned” about the future of Tauondi.
“(Cuts) would mean some of the students might not have a pathway,” Ms Hartman said.
“Some students have begun asking what’s going to happen to their courses. They’re concerned about their own futures.”
She said the college was a “very important” place for many Aboriginal people, including those who were disenfranchised from traditional education or society.
“For some people, coming to Tauondi, they’re making connections with family they may not have seen for years or may not have known about,” she said.
“It’s a huge thing, particularly around identity – having a place where you don’t have to prove your identity.”
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Premier Steven Marshall said the Government was “working closely and collaboratively” with the college to “establish a new funding model that will enable Tauondi to continue to deliver training programs to Aboriginal people”.
“Over recent months, I have participated in a number of meetings with board members and management to identify options which can provide a sustainable future for the college and I look forward to a successful outcome from these discussions,” Mr Marshall said.