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Michaelia Cash. Photo: Lukas Coch/AAP
‘Drowning
in red tape’
Peak body for independent
sector calls for alignment.
The two regulators of Australia’s
tertiary education sector are being
urged to limit bureaucratic red tape
and align their regulatory standards.
The call for closer alignment between the
Tertiary Education Quality and Standards
Agency and the Australian Skills Quality
Authority was made by the Independent
Tertiary Education Council Australia, the
peak body for independent providers of
VET and higher education.
ITECA chief executive Troy Williams
highlighted the difficultly and inefficiency
with the current situation.
“There are 61 independent providers that
are dual sector, operating across both the
higher education sector and the vocational
education and training sector,” he said.
“They are drowning in red tape as they
deal with two different sets of regulatory
standards enforced by TEQSA and ASQA.
It’s time we act to relieve that burden in a
way that preserves quality in the sector.”
To address this issue, ITECA proposed
a process of “regulatory convergence”
where standards overseen by TEQSA and
ASQA would be aligned where possible.
While this approach acknowledges that the
two sectors are vastly different in several
ways, it also makes clear that convergence
between the two regulators is possible –
and preferable – in a number of areas.
“This is all about improving outcomes
for students. We want tertiary education
providers focused on supporting students
rather than filling in two sets of forms
from two different regulators for the same
purpose,” Williams said.
“Regulators can preserve the integrity
of the system and cut red tape at the
same time.”
ITECA believes the first step towards
achieving a more “coherent education
sector” is the alignment of the Higher
Education Standards Framework 2015 (Cth)
and the Standards for Registered Training
Organisations 2015 (Cth).
“We have different regulatory standards,
different student funding mechanisms, and
different regulatory systems.
“These hamper student outcomes and
serve independent tertiary education
providers very poorly,” Williams said.
“It’s time for reform.”
ITECA has written to both TEQSA
and ASQA with formal requests to
begin a scoping study into aligning the
regulatory standards.
The council has also raised the matter
with the minister for education, Dan Tehan,
and the minister for employment, skills,
small and family business, Michaelia Cash. ■
Balancing
the equation
Experts warn gender imbalance
in maths threatens pandemic
recovery and future crisis response.
The latest report from the Australian
Mathematical Sciences Institute
(AMSI) argues that gender inequity
and imbalance will jeopardise the nation’s
intellectual capability, compromising both
post-coronavirus recovery and future
responses to pandemics.
The report, which coincided with the
2020 International Women in Mathematics
Day (May 12), provides a snapshot of female
participation in mathematics across Australia,
covering school classrooms, higher
education, research and the workforce.
According to the AMSI paper, redressing
this gender imbalance is critical to ensuring
an appropriately skilled workforce is in place
during the pandemic, and to help with
the road to recovery.
“The work of Australia’s epidemiologists
is decisive in informing governmental
response to the current crisis and guiding
the nation’s recovery,” AMSI’s ChooseMATHS
project director Janine Sprakel said.
“Experts like Professor Jodie McVernon
at the Doherty Institute and Professor Raina
MacIntyre are applying cross-disciplinary
approaches, including mathematical and
computational models in synthesising
insights from biological, epidemiological and
sociological data,” she continued.
“So many talented women are at the
forefront of modelling ... enhancing
understanding of infectious diseases and
determining optimal interventions for
pandemic control.
“Restrictions will be eased [according to]
mathematically based advice from these
scientists.”
The report’s author, Maaike Wienk,
said the low participation rate of girls in
Year 12 mathematics is of great concern,
compromising Australia’s ability to develop
a strong STEM workforce for Australia’s
post‐pandemic recovery.
To illustrate, in 2018 only 7.2 per cent
of female Year 12 students took higher
mathematics compared with 12.2 per cent
of male students.
“This risk is compounded by gender
distribution between employment divisions
and occupations,” Wienk said.
“Women form the majority of the
professional workforce within the healthcare
and social assistance sectors, but the
number of girls entering tertiary education
in maths disciplines is far less than boys,
accounting for an estimated 38 per cent of
undergraduate mathematics students.”
The percentage remains static despite
the promotion of STEM subjects in schools,
compromising the future of a well-trained
STEM workforce. ■
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