NSW Adult Literacy & Numeracy Council

NSW Adult Literacy & Numeracy Council

NSW Adult Literacy & Numeracy Council

Literacy at a price

A position paper prepared by the NSW Adult Literacy and Numeracy Council in response to the NSW government’s decision to introduce fees for basic literacy and numeracy courses in TAFE

August 2003

NSW Adult Literacy & Numeracy Council Inc. ABN 27019 849 066

PO Box K450 Haymarket NSW 1240 Phone (02) 9514 3973 Fax (02) 9514 3030

Introduction

In late June this year the NSW Australian Labor Party announced in its annual state budget the introduction of fees from January 2004 for all Adult Basic Education and Outreach courses in NSW TAFE. Fees of $300 will be required for one year courses. The only exceptions will be those individuals registered unemployed and several categories of people in receipt of welfare benefits. Until now all these courses have been exempted from fees. Only once before in 1988 when the conservative Greiner government came to power was there an attempt to introduce fees for these courses, but when the full impact of fees was realised the Greiner government quickly reversed the decision.

The New South Wales Adult Literacy and Numeracy Council (NSW ALNC), the peak professional organisation representing the field of adult literacy and numeracy in this state, condemns the decision to impose fees on ABE courses, and this paper will outline the position of the Council. Our opposition is based on three main factors:

1)The social inequity of imposing fees on courses which are basic to enabling people to participate fully in Australian society. In particular, the NSW ALNC is deeply concerned about the group of people that the fee imposition impacts on most greatly – the working poor;

2)The contradiction of this policy on fees with the ALP’s own education policies and social values;

3)The contravention by this policy of basic human rights that are recognised internationally.

The NSW ALNC would like to point out that there will be little financial gain for the government from the imposition of fees for these courses. In a survey of NSW TAFE colleges conducted recently by the NSW ALNC (2003) it was found that for the 1001 ABE students who were not on Centrelink benefits, only 144 (14%) could pay the fees.

1.Literacy, numeracy and social justice: TAFE’s responsibilities

That literacy in English, and numeracy skills, are integral for people to participate fully in Australian society is surely a given. For the past three decades there has been substantial evidence that any thriving Western democratic community is dependent on the basic educational skills of its citizens, and in particular, literacy in English (see for example, OECD 1992, 1995, 2000). Government reports frequently tell us that in the new globalised world more than ever the economic competitiveness of the nation is dependent on the English literacy and numeracy skills of its citizens (e.g. DEET 1991, DEETYA 1996, International Literacy Year 1991). Conversely, that lack of literacy and numeracy are seen to equate with poor economic performance, unemployment, and a wide range of social disadvantages, including crime, poor health, homelessness and poverty (Australian Bureau of Statistics 1997, DEET 1991, Hartley 1989). This is why governments at both state and federal level have provided so much funding over the past three decades for adult literacy and numeracy provision in formal institutions such as TAFE.

To date, successive NSW governments can be congratulated for having established and maintained a well-structured ABE provision available free of charge in almost every TAFE college and catering for more than 10,000 student enrolments each year. NSW TAFE would appear to have largely fulfilled its charter of meeting the needs of individuals and the skill needs of the workplace “and, in particular, ensure that it provides basic and pre-vocational education as well as vocational education and training” (TAFE Commission Act 1990: 4). TAFE has successfully provided students with “the maximum opportunities for progression by the linking or other articulation of courses and programs provided by the TAFE Commission … and those provided by other education and training providers”, and further, it has provided educationally disadvantaged groups with access to TAFE services (TAFE Commission Act 1990: 4). In short, free TAFE courses in adult literacy and numeracy have provided an equitable access point to further education, training and employment, and to fuller participation in society, for many thousands of people in NSW. Unfortunately, in relation to ABE provision, these achievements are soon to be seriously undermined by the introduction of fees.

In a major survey of literacy and numeracy skills in Australia conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (1997) it was demonstrated that people who score at the lowest levels of English literacy and numeracy skills are predominantly those who:

  • speak languages other than English at home
  • have lower levels of formal education
  • are older adults
  • earn the lowest incomes or who are not in the workforce
  • are over-represented within indigenous communities

These are the groups of people most disadvantaged and in need of improving their basic educational skills, and not surprisingly, these are the very same characteristics as the students who enrol in ABE courses at TAFE. But it does not follow that these students would receive individual exemptions from the planned course fees in 2004. Many would not.

A recent survey of ABE students in TAFE conducted by the NSW ALNC (2003) indicates that 43%, that is, 1001 out of 2311 current ABE students would not qualify for an individual exemption from course fees, and the vast majority of these students (857, 86%) would not be able to afford to pay the new course fees.

Thus, the effect of the introduction of course fees will be to reduce access to basic literacy and numeracy skills for a great many people who need these skills to participate fully in Australian society. The new ALP fees policy discriminates against some of the poorest and most socially disadvantaged people in the Australian community.

2.ALP education policies and social values: Just rhetoric?

Currently the internet website for the NSW ALP ( features education and youth policies which make the introduction of fees for ABE courses difficult to comprehend. The education policy begins by stating that:

A social democratic and free society requires an education system that provides its members with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to participate fully and with dignity in that society.

Within this education policy, under the heading Adult Literacy and Language (page 35 section 12.2) it states:

A Labor Government will ensure an ongoing commitment to improving the literacy and numeracy levels of adults in Australia through the development and provision of high quality programs and services …

Specifically this section then states a Labor Government’s commitment to:

Ensuring adult basic education programs and coursesare free

An astonishing contradiction exists between the current stated ALP policy on education and the planned introduction of fees for ABE courses in 2004. Clearly, in order to introduce these fees the ALP will be required to revise and rewrite its education policies. The NSW ALNC seeks to know why the ALP has decided to reverse its education policy in relation to ABE provision.

Further contradictions are revealed in current NSW ALP policies on Youth. After stating the need to provide opportunities for youth, under the section entitled Tertiary – TAFE (page 103, section 4.30) it states a Labor Government will (among other points):

Abolish TAFE fees
and increase funding for and the number of TAFE places

Many students of ABE courses are young people, and many are enrolled in Outreach courses. How can the NSW ALP on the one hand state its current policy of abolishing TAFE fees, while simultaneously declare its intention to introduce fees from 2004? These contradictions require an explanation. We need an explanation of why the NSW ALP has taken a giant and regressive leap to the political right in its education and youth policies, and whether current policy statements such as the above are anything more than just rhetoric designed to garner political support.

It is not only the current education and youth policies of the NSW ALP that appear problematic in light of the introduction of course fees, but the core social values which underpin the party. One of the current official websites for the ALP deals with the values of the party under the heading “What labor stands for” ( In relation to “fairness” we are told Labor believes people should have an equal chance to achieve their potential, and that government has a critical role in ensuring:

  • equal opportunity
  • removing unjustifiable discrimination; and
  • achieving a more equitable distribution of wealth, income and status.

Under “Compassion” we are told Labor “is committed to protecting and supporting those who are disadvantaged, oppressed or simply struggling to cope”. Labor’s priorities include providing security for all Australians and creating opportunity, including:

  • to realize fully their individual potential throughout their lifetime;
  • to advance their living standards and quality of life;
  • and to gain access to employment, education, housing, health and welfare services …

These are commendable statements for a civil, fair and democratic society, but it is our contention that the imposition of fees for ABE courses contradicts such statements. A great many ABE students are neither registered unemployed nor card-carrying welfare recipients; they fit the category of the “working poor”. They are disadvantaged students and are “struggling to cope”. How does the imposition of course fees sit with this ALP commitment to protect and support these students?

3.Literacy as a basic human right

It is unfashionable in the current political climate to speak of people’s rights, in fact, academics tell us that appeals to rights or entitlements in the area of language/literacy policy hold little sway with governments today (Lo Bianco 2001). But by the same token governments such the ALP project a concern for people’s rights in their statements on fairness and compassion, and they are happy to refer to “the fundamental rights of working people to join trade unions, and to organize, collectively bargain and strike” (ALP 2003).

For teachers and other people who work closely with ABE student groups their values and their beliefs about rights have remained unchanged; they strongly maintain a belief in the UNESCO statement of the “right to read and write” (UNESCO 1997). And they are in accord with Article 26 the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights that states in part: “Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages” (United Nations 1948). ABE is “fundamental”. It is also “basic”, and a “foundation” education leading to economic and personal development in a democratic society, and teachers and others involved in the ABE field make no apology for arguing for their students “rights” to literacy and numeracy, and that access should not be denied through the introduction of fees.

References

ALP (Australian Labor Party) (2003) What labor stands for. See

Australian Bureau of Statistics (1997) Aspects of literacy: Assessed skill levels, Australia 1996. Canberra: AGPS.

DEET (Department of Employment, Education and Training) (1991) Australia’s Language: The Australian Language and Literacy Policy. Canberra: AGPS.

DEETYA (Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs) (1996) More than money can say: The impact of ESL and literacy training in the Australian workforce. Canberra: DEETYA.

Hartley, R. (1989) The social costs of inadequate literacy. Canberra: AGPS.

International Literacy Year (1991) Literacy training: The key to long term productivity. Canberra: ILY Secretariat.

Lo Bianco, J. (2001) From policy to anti-policy: How fear of language rights took policy-making out of community hands. In J. Lo Bianco and R. Wickert (eds) Australian policy activism in language and literacy. Melbourne: Language Australia.

NSW ALNC (2003) Impact of the introduction of fees on students in Adult Basic Education courses in TAFE NSW. A survey conducted by the NSW Adult Literacy and Numeracy Council, August.

NSW ALP (2003) NSW ALP Policy. See

NSW Adult Literacy and Numeracy Council (2003) Unpublished statistics.

OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) (1992) Adult illiteracy and economic performance. Paris: OECD.

OECD (1995) Literacy, economy and society. Paris: OECD.

OECD/Statistics Canada (2000) Literacy in the information age: Final report og the international adult literacy survey. Paris: OECD/Statistics Canada.

TAFE Commission Act (1990) Sydney: NSW Government.

UNESCO (1997) The Hamburg Declaration on Adult Learning.

United Nations (1948) United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. See

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