Decline in funded VET students

The fall in govern­ment-funded vocational edu­ca­tion confirms the sector’s status as the education system’s problem.

The number of students in govern­ment-funded vocational edu­ca­tion continues to fall, confirming the sector’s status as the problem area of Australia’s education system.

New figures from the National Centre for Vocational Education Research show that the number of students funded by federal, state or territory governments dropped by 5.9 per cent to about 1.2 million last year. The number of education delivery hours fell 5.2 per cent and subject enrolments fell 6 per cent.

The figures measure the number of students being taught in government-funded vocational education programs in TAFEs and universities, as well as private and community education providers.

The continuing decline is no surprise because governments steadily have withdrawn money from vocational education programs in recent years.

Figures from the Mitchell Institute show that government spending on vocational education and training (as best it can be estimated) dropped from $7 billion in 2011-12 to $5.7bn in 2015-16, even as spending on higher education and schools soared upwards.