AUSTRALIAN
COUNCIL
FOR THE DEFENCE OF GOVERNMENT
SCHOOLS - D.O.G.S.
PRESS RELEASE 273#.
14 NOVEMBER
2008
TECHNICAL EDUCATION GOES
SECTARIAN AND PRIVATE
RUDD AND GILLARD CONTINUE
THE HOWARD TOXIC LEGACY
Historically Australia has provided secondary technical
education as part of the public education system. Rarely did the
private school sector enter this area of education. There were
three reasons for this. One was the expensive nature of
technical education; the second was that tradesmen were
generally consider of a lesser class than academic education.
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies for example, expressed the view that
public education was for 'hewers of wood and carriers of
water''. Private education was for 'Christian gentlemen'
and the upper classes.
The third and most important reason for State provision of
technical training was that the State did not wish to divide
tradesman on religious grounds. After all, it was important that
those who were so essential to the economic well being of the
society co-operated in the hewing of wood, carrying of water and
building of essential infrastructure.
The sectarian division of young people training to be tradesman
by religious enterprises running technical colleges/trade
centres extends to this essential area of vocational
training the social and economic irrationality of our current
funding of religious and class divisions in our primary and
secondary education.
What has changed? Tradesmen are now in short supply with and
have substantial incomes.
This new scheme funding religious trade centres and technical
colleges only arises out of the gross entanglement of religion
with the Australian State via State Aid. It ranks in stupidity
beyond even the 'corporate welfare' currently offered the
bottomless pit of ABC Learning enterprises. After all, that was
what State Aid was in the very beginning. It was and is
'corporate welfare' doled out in ever increasing billions to the
failed religious enterprises.
DOGS illustrate the intrusion of religion into trade education
with the following information provided by the State School
Teachers Union of Western Australia. In a Media Report dated 29
October 2008, entitled Australian Technical Colleges Gifted
to Private Interests:
In the context of a review of
Australian Technical Colleges earlier this year,
Julia Gillard announced that it was the governments intention
“:to integrate ATCs into the broader education effort.”
To date (28 October 2008)
five announcements have been made by the Minister for Education,
Julia Gillard, concerning the future of specific ATCs. All five
ATCs have been gifted to private school interests.
The five colleges listed
below were all covered in the announcement by Gillard.
-
Australian Technical
College - Port Macquarie – gifted to Catholic system.
The College will be known as the Newman Senior Technical
College and will continue to be owned and operated by
the Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the
Diocese of Lismore. The Diocese will underwrite future
operating costs for the College.
-
Australian Technical
College - Northern Adelaide – gifted to Catholic system.
Northern Adelaide will become a Catholic systemic senior
secondary college owned and operated by the Catholic
Archdiocese of Adelaide.
-
Australian Technical
College– Western Sydney – gifted to the Sydney Anglican
Schools Corporation. The College will be operated by the
Sydney Anglican Schools Corporation and will continue to
work in strong partnership with industry. Enrolments for
the College will be open to all interested students in
the Greater Western Sydney region.
-
Australian Technical
College – Hunter – will operate as a an non-government
senior high school and Registered Training Organisation
run by the Hunter Valley Training Company and the
Maitland/Newcastle Diocesan Catholic Schools Office.
-
Australian Technical
College – North Brisbane - will remain a non-government
independent school, Registered Training Organisation
(RTO) and Supervising Registered Training Organisation
know as the Australian Trade College – North Brisbane
Ltd.
DOGS agree with AEU
Federal President Angelo Gavrielatos said, “Recent global
events show how dangerous it is to hand crucial parts of the
economy like education and training over to an uncontrolled
market."
DOGS feel free to go
further . They are prepared to call sectarian education
sectarian, divisive, economically irresponsible and stupid.
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