Inquiry hears of disability TAFE hurdles
THE Gordon TAFE has told a parliamentary inquiry that self-doubt and financial and administrative barriers are driving accessibility issues for people with disability.
The Victorian Legislative Assembly’s Economy and Infrastructure Committee is examining the accessibility of TAFE for learners with disability and how their experiences can be improved.
Committee chair and Lara MP John Eren last year said the inquiry wanted to find out the types of barriers learners with disability faced when trying to enrol and participate in TAFE and what resources and support they needed.
A submission to the inquiry by The Gordon revealed staff expressed concern about a lack of overall resources in the TAFE network, which led to increased pressure on employees.
“Many staff feel that the TAFE network is under-resourced, with teachers in particular articulating the challenges associated with legacy systems, limited time and too few resources,” the submission said.
Analysis of student enrolment, commencement and completion data found that few TAFEs in Victoria had a proportion of students who identified as having a disability that was similar to the non-TAFE population, and TAFE students with disability reported lower levels of satisfaction with TAFE than students without disability.
It also found a lower proportion of students with disability completed their TAFE course and students with disability undertook lower-level qualifications at a higher rate.
The submission noted that only five of the 12 TAFE institutes in the network that provided data had a proportion of students with disability that was greater than the average prevalence of disability in the general Australian population among people aged 15-64.
The submission said students with disability who responded to a survey reported that the greatest barrier to their study was a lack of confidence and selfdoubt.
Advocates have suggested barriers inhibiting people with disability from studying at TAFE included financial accessibility and administrative issues.
The inquiry is scheduled to report in September this year.