TAFEs and universities are at odds over a radical plan for reform of education unveiled last week by the Business Council of Australia (BCA).

The BCA report titled ‘Future Proof, Protecting Australians through Education and Skills’, proposed a tertiary system, where VET and higher education operate coherently, rather than as silos, supported by a single funding model and a lifelong entitlement to tertiary education.

While TAFEs have strongly supported the report’s increased focus on TAFEs as a key economic lever, Universities Australia has warned that the plan risked eroding the quality of tertiary education, and opened the possibility of private providers abusing the system, as with the former VET FEE-HELP scheme.