Former TAFE system overhaul chief Greg Black wants minister to resign, blaming poor funding and leadership for current scandal
A TOP public servant appointed by the State Government to overhaul the TAFE system says poor funding and leadership doomed its reform, and the minister must resign. HAVE YOUR SAY
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A TOP public servant appointed by the State Government to overhaul the TAFE system says poor funding and leadership doomed its reform, and the minister must resign.
The damning critique comes as the Federal Parliament launches an inquiry to judge the SA Government’s policy failings, budget cuts and effect on students.
But Premier Jay Weatherill is standing by Higher Education Minister Susan Close.
The Australian Skills Quality Authority, which this week blocked TAFE SA from taking enrolments in 14 courses because of poor standards, has also confirmed it planned to start audits of another batch of courses before April.
Former Department of Further Education, Employment, Science and Technology chief executive Greg Black took on the role in 2002, immediately after Labor took office.
Mr Black told The Advertiser that the “disaster” engulfing the public training provider has roots in failed policies of more than a decade ago, and embattled Higher Education and Skills Minister Susan Close “must take responsibility for 15 years of neglect and resign”.
Mr Black contradicted Dr Close’s claim that TAFE SA’s corporatised structure, which keeps it at arm’s length from Cabinet, meant she and the Government should avoid blame.
“This disaster has been 15 years in the making,” he said.
“We were given scant support by the Government and the result was an agency with very limited corporate capacity to manage and support the TAFE system.
“Since then, there has been a litany of poor government leadership and constant cuts to funding exacerbated by redundancy schemes that managed to remove much TAFE talent, not poor performers. It’s sickening to think of the impact on students.
“The minister must take responsibility for 15 years of neglect, and resign.”
Premier Jay Weatherill stood by Dr Close, insisting “there’s been an assertion of ministerial responsibility under my leadership”.
Asked what it would take for a minister to be sacked in SA, Mr Weatherill said: “Dishonesty or illegality, and there’s no suggestion of that”.
An ASQA report released on Monday found deficiencies in all of the 16 courses it audited. Fourteen were so severe that enrolments have been suspended.
The TAFE SA chairman has been removed and the chief executive has resigned, with the State Government launching an inquiry into the effectiveness of the organisation and its “strategic role”.
Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham said ASQA had found systemic problems existed within TAFE and he expected the body to take further action if they were not quickly addressed.
Federal Labor yesterday opposed the Senate inquiry which will report on the crisis on February 28 — about two weeks before the SA Election.
Senator Birmingham said he was pleased the Greens and crossbench supported the move to investigate how the SA Government spent $771 million of taxpayer money.
“I’m very pleased that the Australian Senate is going to do the job of holding Susan Close and state Labor to account. Jay Weatherill won’t hold her to account,” Senator Birmingham said.
“The SA Government had a policy called Skills For All, and they scrapped it in place of a policy called WorkReady.
“They changed their provision from giving lots of funding to private providers to taking it all away, then giving it virtually all to the TAFE system. And now we’ve discovered that their administration of TAFE has been woefully inadequate to say the best. Constant policy chaos.”
An ASQA spokesman said the body would assess more courses next year as part of a regular process after an institution failed an audit.
“ASQA has advised TAFE SA of its intention to undertake another compliance monitoring audit of its training and assessment within 12 months,” the spokesman said.
“This is expected to occur in the first quarter of 2018.”
The scope of that audit was still being determined.
Dr Close yesterday said former TAFE chairman Peter Vaughan had been sacked on Tuesday because “when you are paid to be the chair of a significant board of a corporatised entity, there’s a degree of responsibility that goes with that”.
Dr Close said she would not resign. “There is ministerial responsibility,” she said.
“My responsibility is to not only have the correct policy settings and to make sure that the funding flows, but also to hold the people who are charged with operating the organisation to account. Having received a report, I act,” she said.