TAFE SA crisis could put Year 12 SACE qualifications in doubt

PARENTS fear further audits of TAFE SA courses could throw the SACE qualifications of their Year 12 children into doubt, forcing them to redo parts of vocational courses.

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PARENTS fear further audits of TAFE SA courses could throw the SACE qualifications of their Year 12 children into doubt and force them to redo parts of vocational courses.

More than 6300 students, in excess of 40 per cent of those who completed their SACE this year, used a vocational training component.

Authorities have not been able to say how many had done TAFE SA courses.

Sixty high school students studied courses that were among the 14 from which national regulator the Australian Skills Quality Authority has suspended TAFE SA from taking further enrolments, following a damning audit. Of those, 14 students needed the courses for SACE completion.

TAFE SA has written to the SACE Board saying it has worked with the regulator and could advise there was “no risk to any parchment or result” for the students affected by the audit outcome.

“Remediation has been completed by TAFE SA for affected SACE students and submitted to ASQA,” it said.

But parents are worried that more audits planned by the regulator next year will find problems with more courses that their children have studied and put toward their SACE.

Parent group SA Association of State School Organisations director David Knuckey wrote to Education Minister Susan Close, pointing to her admission it was likely other courses were substandard.

“Parents are worried about the impact the results of these audits may have on high school students completing — or believing they have completed — their SACE, only to discover they are in fact short required credits,” he wrote.

“This could create a raft of problems ... (for) those enrolled in tertiary study based on their SACE, and those who have left school and are working or attempting to find work based on their SACE.”

Dr Close and TAFE SA both said they could not comment on future audits.

Dr Close said lessons from this year’s audit were being applied to all courses, while ASQA had “demonstrated a willingness to work with TAFE to ensure school students are not adversely affected”.

TAFE SA interim boss Alex Reid said it trained 4500 school students per year “who may or may not use this training toward their SACE”.

She was confident a new quality framework for all courses would ensure they were “up to the standard that we expect”.