The Andrews Government has slashed funding for Victorian TAFEs including Geelong’s The Gordon, according to the state opposition.
Shadow training and skills minister Steph Ryan tabled the institute’s 2015 annual report last week, saying it showed $33.1 million in cuts to student subsidies.
“Daniel Andrews’ promise to rescue TAFE was a cruel hoax,” she said.
South Barwon MP Andrew Katos criticised the Government’s TAFE commitments.
“Geelong students deserve better than Daniel Andrews’ savage cuts to The Gordon,” Mr Katos said.
The report showed a reduction in contestable funding for The Gordon from $57.5 million in 2014 to $24.3 million in 2015.
However, Training and Skills Minister Steve Herbert said the “cuts” were due to third parties cancelling training worth $30 million.
Mr Herbert said the third parties “didn’t meet the institute’s high standards”.
“These contracts were inappropriately approved under the Liberals and cancelled under Labor.”
Mr Herbert said his Government had invested an additional $16.3 million to help The Gordon recover from the previous government’s “harsh cuts”.
“It beggars belief that the Coalition has so quickly forgotten the devastation they caused through their TAFE cuts and mismanagement of the training system.”
Ms Ryan said the reduction in contestable funding had caused The Gordon’s student numbers to decline from 19,478 in 2014 to 14,749 in 2015.
However, Mr Herbert said the now-cancelled contracts had artificially inflated numbers.
The Gordon chief executive officer Lisa Line said the institute was in a strong capital position to provide a “solid platform for future growth”.
In October The Gordon received $6 million under the Victorian Government’s TAFE Back to Work Fund and $1 million to establish a Skills and Jobs Centre.
The institute recently received $5.13 million in Community Service funding which is part of the Labor Government’s $320 million TAFE Rescue Fund.
