Aussie Taxpayers Are Losing More in Privatized Education Than Public Education

A new analysis of federal government figures have unveiled some shocking and hard truths about higher education in Australia. In 2014, taxpayers paid, on average, $73,200 for each graduate from private colleges, and $10,500 for each graduate from TAFE courses.

In short, private colleges are costing the public 7x more than public sector education.

The study was conducted by the NSW Greens and based on data provided by the federal Department of Education and Training. The study was prompted by several scandals in the private college sector where recruiters were giving away laptops and iPads to enrol students without any care for whether students completed courses.

To put this into perspective, the Sydney-based AIPE allegedly received $111 million in government funding in 2014 and could only demonstrate that 117 diplomas had been received by students.

The discrepancy between private college costs to taxpayers and TAFE costs to taxpayers is primarily based on completion rate for students. In 2014, 87% of students enrolled in TAFE courses received a diploma, while a mere 44% of students enrolled in private colleges finished their courses and received a qualification.

However, Ian Oliver, CEO of National Training, states that private colleges don’t need to charge outlandish prices, costing both students and taxpayers far more than their TAFE counterparts.

Oliver continues that, in fact, private colleges can cost even less than TAFE programs.

“Not all private vocational providers cost the taxpayer more than the TAFEs. With a 50%+ completion rate over the past 8 years and diplomas at less than $2,000, National Training certifications are up to 5 times cheaper than the TAFES.”

This low cost is an obvious smart move for students, but in light of the new analysis conducted by the NSW Greens, it also seems that National Training’s programs are a big part of solving high costs to taxpayers as well.

“Public education is too expensive and full of inefficiencies to begin with. The model is fundamentally flawed. Modern education processes have the potential to cut costs significantly by efficiently delivering quality education to the masses via modern engagement practices. National Training is already doing this via online learning and encouraging students to digitally interact with their trainers,” Ian Oliver finished.

Contact National Training to start accelerating your career at an affordable price today!