The Scan | #140 | 18 October 2013

18/10/2013 by
Temazepam3Dan

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Hockey hoses down speculation on HECS "privatisation" With the appointment of a commission of audit to scrutinise the Commonwealth budget and make recommendations about priorities, savings and efficiencies in the offing, treasurer  Joe Hockey has  hosed down speculation that the government plans to "privatise" student debt, following claims that the right to recoup loans worth about $23 billion may be "sold off" to the private sector.  He says, through a spokesperson, the proposal is “not current Coalition policy”.....[ READ MORE ].... La … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Low literacy and numeracy skills hurt Australians and the economy

18/10/2013 by
Economist literacy

ACER News   |  9 October 2013 The existence of large numbers of Australians with low literacy and numeracy skills has a negative impact on individuals, the economy and productivity, according the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER). Results from the OECD Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) have been released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Developed with the support of ACER, the study assessed people aged 15-74 years in 25 countries in terms of proficiency in literacy, numeracy and problem-solving in a technology-rich environment. David Tout, Senior Research Fellow at ACER and a member of the Numeracy Expert Group for … [Read more...]

Filed Under: acer, General Tagged With: , ,

Higher TAFE fees hit apprenticeships

18/10/2013 by
apprentices

Sydney Morning Herald    |    October 2013The slow economy and a sharp increase in TAFE fees have been blamed for a fall in the number of apprentices and trainees in NSW at a time of high youth unemployment.Internal NSW Treasury figures released by the state upper house show the number of apprentices and trainees employed by businesses paying payroll tax fell from 56,427 to 54,017 - almost 5% - between 2011 and last year.Opposition Leader John Robertson, whose office obtained the figures, said the government should be addressing skills shortages and the high rate of youth unemployment, which is close to 17%.The O’Farrell government should be investing more in vocational training, not making … [Read more...]

Filed Under: AiG, TAFE, VET, Vocational education & training Tagged With: , , , ,

Forrest donates $65m to WA universities

18/10/2013 by
Twiggy Forrest

ABC News   |  15 October 2013 Mining billionaire Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest has made one of the biggest single philanthropic donations in Australian history, and called on other tycoons to share their wealth. Forrest will contribute $65 million to higher education in Western Australia.  He says he wants the money to attract some of the best minds in the world to West Australian universities. I expect this to be one of the best, if not the best, investments we ever make.I'd like to see the University of Western Australia and the other four or five universities in Western Australia really excel through having some of the greatest minds in the world attracted to it. Philanthropy Australia … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Curtin University, Edith Cowan University, Murdoch University, University of Western Sydney Tagged With: ,

TEQSA commissioner “retired”

18/10/2013 by
Eric Mayne

The Australian    |    17 October 2013 Group of Eight calls for the razor Education minister Christopher Pyne has not renewed the contract of lawyer Eric Mayne, one of the five commissioners who run the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency, which expired on 2 October 2. The next expiry on the commission, for Dorte Kristoffersen's contract, is not until September next year. Chief commissioner Carol Nicoll has a contract that runs to October 2016. He said he was given a reason for his contract not being renewed on October 3 but it was "confidential". He expected that Mr Pyne "wants to make a new start". TEQSA declined to comment on the implications for the statutory authority, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Commonwealth policies, Group of 8, Higher education policy, TEQSA Tagged With: , , ,

Hockey rules out privatising HECS debt

18/10/2013 by

The Australian    |     17 October 2013With the appointment of a commission of audit to scrutinise the Commonwealth budget and make recommendations about priorities, savings and efficiencies in the offing, there’s been all sorts of speculation as to where it might end up.In higher education, having announced a review of the demand-driven system and mused about whether rapid growth in participation had compromised quality, education minister Christopher Pyne, prodded undoubtedly by the prime minister, promptly ruled out the reintroduction of caps, increased fees and introduction of a minimum ATAR for university entry.  Let’s wait and see on all of that.Treasurer Joe Hockey has now hosed down … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Budget, Coalition policies, Commonwealth policies, Government, Higher education policy Tagged With: , , , , , ,
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 391 other followers

Powered by WordPress.com