States urged to avoid Gonski trade-offs

30/04/2013 by
Martin Riordan

Australian Financial Review    |    29 April 2013 The agreement between NSW and the Commonwealth governments on the Gonski education reforms may come at the expense the TAFE sector in NSW, with premier Barry O’Farrell saying the NSW government would achieve the needed $1.7 billion in savings through measures including changes to vocational education and training fees and subsidies. In its last state budget, the O’Farrell government removed $1.7 billion from education, resulting in TAFE fee rises of about 9.5%,  the commercialisation of fine arts courses and the loss of about 800 jobs. TAFE Directors Australia chief ­Martin Riordan says more fee increases would have a significant … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Budget, Schools, TAFE Directors Australia, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , ,

UA demands “no more cuts”

30/04/2013 by

Universities Australia    |    30 April 2013 Universities have called on the Australian Government to rule out any further cuts to universities or students, following the revelation on 30 April of a new $12 billion hit to the Federal Budget and the effective quarantining of school funding.  Universities Australia's Chief Executive Belinda Robinson declared  Off the back of $3.8 billion in cuts inflicted on universities and students over the past six months, the Australian community is becoming increasingly concerned that a high quality university system is being sacrificed to fund school reforms - when both are part of the recipe for national success.  The Prime Minister has … [Read more...]

Filed Under: ALP policies, Budget, Commonwealth policies, Government, Higher education policy, Uncategorized, Universities Australia Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

ANZAC Day

23/04/2013 by

23 April 2013 Australia glories in war and ANZAC Day has become an excrescence of national identity that feeds bellicosity and jingoism, according to Christopher Bantick (Anti-war poems can counter hero worship). ANZAC Day was born out of the shock and grief of Australians to the terrible casualties at Gallipoli and later on Western Front.  In the First World War, 60,000 Australian soldiers and other personnel died and there were in excess of 160,000 physically wounded soldiers and countless others emotionally and mentally wounded.   For a country with a population of about 5 million,  there was hardly a family in Australia that wasn’t touched by the death of or serious injury to a father, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, Life & stuff, Society Tagged With:

Australian Financial Review 22 April 2013

22/04/2013 by

This is Australian Financial Review's  own summary of lead items in its online edition. As this is a subscription service, you or your organisation will need to have a subscription to The Australian Financial Review to view the full article. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ UNE opens campus for off-site students UNE has made a big move towards shifting students away from the concept of distance education by opening a new campus in the middle of Parramatta in Sydney's west. Digital textbooks prompt evolution in reading Several professors at Texas A&M University know something that … [Read more...]

Filed Under: ALP policies, Budget, Coalition policies, Commonwealth policies, Government, Grattan Institute, Group of 8, Higher education policy, International, MOOCs, Research, Schools, TEQSA, Uncategorized, universities, University of New Engalnd Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

New Zealand passes same sex marriage law – with a love song

19/04/2013 by

[NOTE THAT IN SOME BROWSERS THIS VIDEO HAS TO BE VIEWED IN FULL SCREEN] The New Zealand Parliament passed a law on 17 April enabling same sex marriage.  In an extraordinarily touching scene, after the passage of the law, the public gallery burst into a rendition of a century old Maori love song.  Kiwis have increasingly an weird accent but, gee, they sing nice.  When we finally get around to such a law in Australia, which surely can't be too far away, let's hope we have something better in our kit bag than Waltzing Matilda. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pokarekare Ana is a traditional New Zealand love … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Life & stuff, Society Tagged With: , , ,

The Scan Main Edition 19 April 2013

19/04/2013 by
Glyn Davis

#114 ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Queensland TAFE Inc As recommended in the Roche report on Queensland TAFE, the Newman government has introduced legislation to create a new TAFE Queensland as an independent statutory body.   Minister for education, training and employment John-Paul Langbroek said the new parent entity will come into being on 1 July 2013 to manage Queensland’s  13 TAFE institutes.   The government expects that under the new arrangements, Queensland’s TAFE institutes will be stronger and more responsive to the skills and training needs of students and industry.....[READ MORE].... Quantum … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Budget, COAG, Coalition policies, Commonwealth policies, Government, Group of 8, Higher education policy, Holmesglen TAFE, Life & stuff, Research, Scan Main Edition, Schools, Society, TAFE, Tertiary media, universities, Universities Australia, VET Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sydney Uni pulls plug on Dalai Lama

18/04/2013 by

ABC 7.30    |      17 April  2013 Sydney University is under fire after aalegedly pulling the plug on a planned speaking event by the Dalai Lama. Students at Sydney University scored a major coup when the Tibetan spiritual leader agreed to speak at their campus during his upcoming short visit to Sydney in June. But the ABC's 7.30 has obtained emails revealing the university, which has close links to China, went to great lengths to wash its hands of the iconic monk. Campus authorities ticked off on the Dalai Lama's visit in January, and the university's new Institute for Democracy and Human Rights (IDHR) began to organise the event at the Seymour Centre. One of the organisers … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Community engagement, International, Scan Main Edition, Society, University of Sydney Tagged With: , , ,
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