Term 2-07
Editorial 2/2007
By the time this editorial is published, the NSW State Government election will be a thing of the past. Having now taken the time to read through the two major parties education policies, I have yet again been disappointed by the lack of commitment to any form of community based education. Both parties seem to have completely overlooked one of the most vital, vibrant and accessible of sectors.
Two years ago, the NSW State Government slashed funding to Community Colleges. The result was a sudden and unacceptable increase in fee levels restricting access to classes by less fortunate groups and causing significant financial strain on colleges. Since those cuts, enrolment levels in community colleges have fallen to 1997 levels, reversing the great work done by many over the years.
The recently released Federal Labor directions paper on education (see:http://www.alp.org.au/download/now/education_revolution.pdf), although a departure from thinking of the past decade, still pays very little attention to the community sector’s contribution to the generation of social wellbeing through community colleges, neighbourhood centres and similar organisations. To quote from the paper’s executive summary,
“Finally, this paper argues that, if Australia is to turn its productivity performance around as well as enhance workforce participation, the Australian economy now needs an education revolution – across early childhood education, schools, TAFE colleges, universities and research as well as programs for mature age workers…”
Within the discourse of the paper is an adherence to old world beliefs about education as an adjunct to productivity and work. Education has wider benefits. The absence of education generally results in social disorder, higher crime rates and lower health outcomes. The financial cost of those maladies to us as a society is enormous and the social cost to individuals can be disastrous.
Education, productivity and work are important. However, with an aging society, is such a single-minded approach supportable? For many of us, work is who we are. However, if we have been involved in education across our life-span, re-identifying ourselves as learners when we retire may not be difficult. What I see as unfortunate is a lack of leadership to help us to do that. It is a sad indictment that in times of outstanding economic growth and massive budget surpluses, that Australia has not invested heavily in education but rather has reduced its commitment to education generally. Where there has been an increase, it has always been under the guise of workplace participation. Education is not just for now; is not just utilitarian but it is for the future. It is selfish of us to downgrade our commitment to it.
Garry John Traynor
Principal
garry.traynor@scc.nsw.edu.au
The views expressed in this editorial are those of the author.
