Students, former staff label TAFE SA ‘toxic’, say they faced retaliation for speaking out

TAFE SA students say they face retaliation for making public complaints about their courses, prompting calls for an independent inquiry.

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TAFE SA students say they face retaliation for making public complaints about their courses, prompting calls for an independent inquiry.

A meeting hosted by former Senator Nick Xenophon and co-chaired by former SA employee ombudsman Gary Collis on Thursday night drew about 30 concerned students, past and present, former staff members and industry representatives.

Concerned murmurs ran through the group as students recounted their problems with the education provider, which an audit found was underperforming on 14 courses.

Students spoke of the waiting periods for their certification, delaying their ability to be employed despite having completing the requisite training.

Mr Collis said a culture of bullying had created a “toxic workplace” at TAFE SA with the accreditation scandal only the beginning of the education provider’s problems.

“When I was the Employee Ombudsman I raised my concerns, as I still do, about the level of bullying in the public sector,” Mr Collis told The Advertiser.

A public meeting was held about the TAFE SA crisis on Thursday night. Picture: Bianca De Marchi

“However, I am staggered by what is going on with TAFE SA. I had at least 50 students phone me (on Wednesday) all saying, ‘Gary, I hope it goes well, but I am too scared to be there because of bullying and victimisation of those speaking out’.

“Tonight we have heard stories of people raising the same issues. Aside from the debacle with the training we need to look at what sort of organisation that they are.”

Mr Xenophon called for an independent inquiry into the embattled institution and a 24-hour hotline for student complaints.

“This takes the TAFE SA scandal to whole new levels where there are serious allegations that students are being threatened with failure if they complain about substandard teaching,” Mr Xenophon said.

“It is quite shocking and needs to be addressed. People’s lives are in limbo and this goes beyond incompetence to something much more serious.”

Mr Xenophon said a 24-hour hotline with dedicated staff was needed to address and document student complaints.

Sarah Martin is one of the many students affected by the TAFE SA accreditation fiasco. Picture: Bianca De Marchi

“You can’t fix a problem unless you acknowledge it and I don’t think the government has acknowledged this issue,” Mr Xenophon said.

“There must be a fast-track mechanism for every student to have their grievances heard. “There should be a hotline in place to deal with this seven days a week.

“These students’ lives are in limbo, there are people out there who cannot earn a living because of the incompetence here.”

The International Student Association Inc said the TAFE SA scandal is negatively impacting the state’s image with foreign students.

“Students and staff haven’t spoken about these issues for many years,” a spokesman said.

“What’s disappointing is the government doesn’t have policies in place to be effectively informed before issues grow out of control, resulting in a significant negative brand image for South Australia.”

Students affected by the accreditation scandal say they have had little contact from TAFE SA or the State Government, a lack of communication Mr Collis said was concerning.

“For the minister to respond by email and text message is a disgrace. She should be out there talking to these people face-to-face.” Mr Collis said.

“That’s what we are lacking: leadership. This current system is broken and needs to be stripped back and rebuilt to try and restore, respect the credibility of the training organisation.”

A former staff member, speaking anonymously because of his experiences with TAFE SA said he had witnessed first-hand a culture of bullying with threats to fail students if they made complaints about their courses.

“It all depends on who you know and who is pushing for you,” he said.