Axe to English migrant program

by Penny Carosi and George Campbell

The Federal Budget has given the chop to a small but highly effective program for unemployed migrants studying vocational courses in TAFE.

The announcement comes with no evaluation or warning. The Advanced English for Migrants Program currently provides funding of $2.2 million to NSW TAFE to run English for Specific Purposes and English for Further Studies programs. For example, an accounting student can concurrently study English for accounting; and engineering students, English for engineering; and so on. Teachers and special program co-ordinators in TAFE may lose their jobs as a result of the Budget cut.

The axing will occur in two phases. The program funds for NSW will drop from $2.2 million to $930,000 from July this year (about 60 per cent). On July 1 next year all funds will go.

Federal Government Budget papers indicate the Advanced English for Migrants Program will be merged with a literacy and numeracy program for the unemployed, but no funds will be transferred — only the students.

Currently the literacy and numeracy program for the unemployed is under-utilised. The reason for this is that it is unusable.

Funds for this program are distributed by tender with about 100 separate bodies receiving tiny amounts of money to provide literacy and numeracy classes. Most providers are not in the geographical area for the group of unemployed people they are supposed to assist. For example, NSW AMES gets $50,000 per year to provide literacy and numeracy teaching to the unemployed in the Darling Downs in South Queensland. How do these people find this out? It is not a sensible system and is a waste of public money to mainly private providers.

The highly effective and focussed Advanced English for Migrants Program must not be allowed to be thrown into this unworkable system. Union members must participate and fight for the jobs of members in TAFE.

The Budget cuts to the Advanced English for Migrants Program is an attack on the ideal of providing migrants and refugees with sufficient English to have a chance to fulfil their potential in this country.

What’s more, it is not just they who will suffer, because the Australian community will lose the contribution which could be made by people bringing to this country their qualifications and experience — which will remain locked behind a language barrier.

Migrants and refugees have a Commonwealth funded entitlement to 510 hours of English classes — delivered by AMES for those fortunate enough to live in the right areas, and delivered by a poorer quality privatised service for the less fortunate.

For most, 510 hours is completely inadequate. Until the Howard Government came to power, additional classes were available for registered job seekers. That’s now gone.

TAFE’s Advanced English for Migrants Program gives to a disadvantaged section of the community opportunities to move in the direction of redressing that disadvantage by getting English language assistance specifically for courses they are enrolled in or to allow them to pursue further studies.

The destruction of this modest program worth only $5.5 million per year nationally eliminates the last English as a Second Language pathway for migrants and refugees who complete their meagre 510 hour entitlement.

We cannot allow the government to do this without a protest.

Federation has produced material for the Federal ALP and Democrats to use in Parliament to try to have this decision reconsidered.

Penny Carosi is the Multicultural Officer/Organiser and George Campbell teaches at Burwood AMES.