Chapter 4 continued
The organisation of ace provision in the states and territories
VICTORIA
The promotion of adult and community education in Victoria is provided
for under the Adult, Community and Further Education Act 1991.
Key components of the framework are the Adult, Community and Further Education
Board and the Regional Councils. The Board, established in 1992, is responsible
for planning, policy development, the allocation of government funding
and advising the Minister on matters pertaining to ACE. [1]
The ACFEB is composed of 16 positions. There are three standing committees
and a program support working group to assist with specific aspects of
the Board's work.
There are nine regional councils, including three in metropolitan Melbourne,
each composed of 12 voluntary members, which `develop regional plans and
policies, and promote, support, resource and evaluate adult education
provision. They also contribute to statewide planning and policy development
and prepare reports for ACFEB'. Resources are allocated to the Councils
through annual performance agreements with ACFEB. These agreements also
serve as a means of monitoring and evaluating regional achievements. [2]
ACFEB is supported by the Adult, Community and Further Education Division
(ACFED) which is part of the Office of Training and Further Education
(OTFE) within the Department of Education. ACFED performs planning and
review functions, manages program support (including curriculum and professional
development and the statewide coordination of Koori adult education support),
provides advice on policy and research priorities to community providers
and `coordinates development of policy with a statewide focus'. [3]
It also provides advice and services related to resource planning and
is responsible for the monitoring and evaluation of performance.
The ACFEB works jointly with the State Training Board, which has responsibility
for ACFE in TAFE Colleges, in planning adult, community and further education
across Victoria. [4] Under the Adult
and Community Education Act 1991, the two boards are required to jointly
prepare a State ACFE plan every three years. The plans must incorporate
plans prepared by the Regional Councils of ACFE which are themselves developed
in consultation with providers and the local community.
The first of these plans, the Adult and Community Education Plan 199395
defined the goals of the two boards in for ACFE as follows:
- ensure provision of accessible and relevant programs and services
throughout Victoria;
- promote pathways for learning;
- maintain and improve the quality of programs and services;
- promote and support community management, planning and delivery of
programs;
- promote the value of adult, community and further education and its
place in life-long learning;
- seek adequate funding and ensure efficient resource management; and
- develop effective and efficient planning, policy and evaluation processes
which ensure delivery of a coherent statewide program. [5]
The plan provided a framework for the development of ACFE and its `expansion
into new areas in response to local need and demand'. [6]
The State ACFE Plan 199698 provides for a system of ACFE throughout Victoria
which `includes the full range of community based providers and TAFE
colleges, as well as the Adult Migrant Education Services (AMES), the
Council of Adult Education (CAE), private providers and other providers'.
ACFE programs include literacy and basic education, the Victorian Certificate
of Education for adults, English as a Second Language, VET programs offered
through community based providers and general adult education programs.
[7]
The Plan has been designed to complement the State VET strategy Strategic
Directions. Key aspects of this strategy includes a shift towards
a system where the government purchases training places rather than funding
courses and providers, and from central control to a devolved system.
The State ACFE Plan 1996-98 sets five interlocking strategic directions;
co-operation and competition, quality and control, consolidation and change,
development and diversification, and accountability and autonomy. [8]
A broad range of organisations provide adult, community and further education
in Victoria. In addition to the major providers, TAFE colleges and the
Council of Adult Education, a statutory authority established under the
Council of Adult Education Act 1981, there are over 560 community
based non profit organisations involved in the provision of ACFE. [9]
Forty of these providers are Koori providers. [10]
According to the Evaluation of the Adult, Community and Further Education
Plan 1993-95, 90 providers were registered to deliver accredited ACE
courses. `In 1994 approximately 11 per cent of the total ACE provision
by community providers was of accredited Stream 2000+ courses. A further
48 per cent was non-accredited Stream 2000+ courses. ACE community providers
contributed approximately 5.6 per cent to the 1995 State Training Profile'.
[11]
There has been significant growth in participation in ACE in Victoria
since 1991. The 1994-95 Annual Report of the ACFEB records the following
increases in provision and participation in ACFE:
- 15 per cent increase in ACFE through community based providers and
CAE
- 56 per cent increase in ESL
- 36 per cent increase in vocational education in community providers
- 15 per cent increase in adult literacy
- 7 per cent increase in general adult education. [12]
The evaluation of the 199395 ACFE plan notes:
- an increase in participation from 1:12 in the population to 1:6
- a 37 per cent increase in the number of Community based ACE providers
- an increase of approximately 2 million student contact hours in further
education programs; ie. programs targeting unemployed, workers seeking
to update their skills and adults seeking a foundation for vocational
and higher education. [13]
Community based providers and the Council of Adult Education receive
government funding through ACFEB. Most of these funds consist of State
recurrent funds. They also include ANTA growth funds for VET and for literacy
programs.
In addition to government funds, community based providers also obtain
funds through student fees and charges, Commonwealth labour market programs
and the private sector.
Other providers such as TAFE colleges and Universities are not eligible
for recurrent grants from the ACFEB although they may receive small amounts
of funding in the form of research grants and the like. Most of their
funding for ACFE comes from user-pays. [14]
The Council of Adult Education [CAE] receives funding directly from ACFEB
in addition to a separate budget allocation from the Minister currently
in the order of $6 million. Conditions of funding and accountability requirements
are set out in performance agreements between ACFEB and CAE. [15]
ACFEB funds for other community based providers are distributed through
the Regional Councils according to the Statewide Funding Model (ACFEB
1995b). From 1997, Regional Councils will allocate funds according to
the 1997 Regional Funding Framework (ACFEB 1996). [16]
Annual Performance Agreements between ACFEB and the Regional Councils
set targets and serve as a means of monitoring and evaluating regional
agreements. [17]
The period between 199395 saw $3.2m in growth funds to ACE with priority
given to unemployed people. There was also $6.2m pre-vocational growth
funding allocated to TAFE colleges in 1994. [18]
The present government's commitment to `smaller government', its preference
for market mechanisms, its faith in competition and its focus on outcomes
are clearly articulated in both the ACFEB's Revised Regional Funding Policy
(ACFEB 1995) and the State ACFE Plan (ACFEB 1995a). The view of ACFE that
is implicit in government policy on ACFE is described by Ferrier as a
broad one which recognises ACFE's role in offering opportunities for lifelong
learning, and its contribution to community development and the attainment
of national objectives. It is according to Ferrier a vision which `encompasses
a narrower view of the role of public funding'. While `it state
s that public funding will be used to support Access and Vocational programs
[it] makes no specific reference to General Adult Education'. [19]
In 1995 the ACFEB implemented the Australian Vocational Education and
Training Management Information Statistical Standard within the sector.
[20]
Footnotes
[1] Adult, Community and Further Education Board.
Annual Report 1994-1995, pp 17-19
[2] ACFEB. Annual Report 1994-1995, p 23
[3] ACFEB. Annual Report 1994-1995, p 25
[4] ACFEB. Annual Report 1994-1995, p 20
[5] ACFEB. Annual Report 1994-1995, p 20
[6] Adult, Community and Further Education Board,
Victoria. Adult, Community and Further Education Plan 1996-98, p
22
[7] Adult, Community and Further Education Board,
Victoria. Adult, Community and Further Education Plan 1996-98,
pp 8-9
[8] Adult, Community and Further Education Board,
Victoria, Adult, Community and Further Education Plan 1996-98,
pp 12-13
[9] ACFEB. Annual Report 1994-1995, p 27
[10] Evaluation of the Adult, Community
and Further Education Plan, 1993-95, p 3
[11] NSW Board of ACE. ACE-VET: Is it Delivering?
p 26
[12] ACFEB. Annual Report 1994-1995,p
31
[13] Evaluation of the Adult, Community
and Further Education Plan 1993-95, pp 1-2
[14] John McIntyre, Tony Brown and Fran Ferrier.
The Economics of ACE Delivery, Research Centre for Vocational Education
and Training, UTS, Dec 1996, Appendix A
[15] John McIntyre et al. The Economics
of ACE Delivery, Appendix A
[16] John McIntyre et al. The Economics
of ACE Delivery, Appendix A
[17] ACFEB. Annual Report 1994-95, p
23
[18] Evaluation of the Adult, Community
and Further Education Plan 1993-95, p 5
[19] John McIntyre et al. The Economics
of ACE Delivery, Appendix A
[20] ACFEB. Annual Report 1994-1995,
p 42