A DRAFT Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) for Inverell Shire Council to consider was presented to council representatives on August 15 by TAFE New England institute director Peter Heilbuth when the two parties met to discuss a shift in the focus of TAFE, which wants to move away from being a passive service provider to becoming a community leader and a recognised corporate citizen.
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TAFE acknowledged their initiative would require partnership and stakeholder support.
Cr Di Baker said she thought it was great to have MOUs with organisations such as TAFE.
“But I think we have to remain careful about any contributions,” she said.
Council general manager Paul Henry said the memorandum was timely.
If this is a reversal, then good-oh. Over the last few years, the availability of courses at this particular campus of TAFE has been declining.
- Cr Barry Johnston
“It allows the community, through council, to interact with TAFE to promote that campus as a centre of learning,” he said.
“There obviously will be an opportunity through this process to question and advocate with the institute (on) issues on behalf of this community. It provides a framework which requires the institute to interact with the council, an action that has sadly been missing in the past.”
Cr Barry Johnston said he hoped it was not an expectation that council become more involved in the day-to-day operations.
“Because it appears to me that the government is doing its best to get out of TAFE,” he said.
“If this is a reversal, then good-oh. Over the last few years, the availability of courses at this particular campus of TAFE has been declining.
“I just hope they are not expecting a future council to carry the load of promoting TAFE education in the face of the same expansion that happening with universities. We’ve got UNE just up the road that is out-marketing itself to take students on.”
Cr Paul Harmon said he had been surprised to learn at his meeting with Mr Heilbuth that same course content varied between TAFE campuses and saw the more centralised curriculum changes to be adopted by TAFE as advantageous.
“But if this is actually going to improve the education of those people seeking tertiary education I think it’s the best outcome,” he said.