TAFE students aren’t the only ones losing out as a result of hiked TAFE fees – teachers are falling victim to redundancies as student enrolments dwindle.

NMIT land management and conservation teacher Sebastian Buckingham was recently made redundant. "Due to the State Government's Skill Reform, enrolments across the institute and in particular this department are well down," agriculture and animal science department head Phil Tripp is said to have told land management students. (Whittlesea Leader)

The Brumby Government's controversial reforms have dramatically ramped up fees, removed the rights to concessions for thousands of low-income students and introduced HECS-style loans.

"It's a sad day for TAFE," said AEU TAFE vice president Jo Fogarty. "The AEU feared from the beginning that redundancies would be the outcome of the TAFE changes — and now it's becoming a reality."

Regional TAFEs are the hardest hit. The University of Ballarat TAFE has already commenced the redundancy process, and Holmesglen, Bendigo, Box Hill, South West and Northern TAFEs are all showing concern about how much longer they can avoid the same fate.

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If "don't disadvantage the disadvantaged" is a message you agree with, pass it on to your local MP today!

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TAFE is a place that provides so much more than an education.

It's where friendships are born.

It's where networks are created

It provides people with a dream of gaining meaningful employment and the hope that they will one day be able to improve their lives.

The Government has significantly increased TAFE fees and abolished concession prices.

TAFE is no longer a place of hopes and dreams.

It's become an exclusive business.

Only those who can afford it are able to attend.

The rest of us are forced to make do with an existence, instead of a life.

Trapped at home with housework.

No opportunity to give birth to friendships.

No opportunity to create networks.

No qualifications to offer prospective employers.

We need to act now!

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Talk about people power: not only did the human and car traffic stop, honk or yell in support at yesterday’s TAFE4All protest, but the large group of TAFE students from Dandenong, chanting "No HECS for TAFE; fair fees for all”, also drew the attention of prominent state members of parliament who joined the protest.

Colleen Hartland and Sue Pennicuik from the Greens, Peter Hall from the Nationals and Brad Battin from the Liberals joined in the TAFE4All rally at Parliament House, leaving the Labor Party as the party not to show up.

In a rare agreement, both the Greens and the Coalition expressed their view that increased TAFE fees, reduced eligibility for government-supported TAFE places and the abolition of TAFE concession fees were simply unfair.

Sue Pennicuik said the Greens' policy is no fees in TAFE: "I don’t accept the argument that increasing fees and making people pay such exorbitant costs will make it easier to get educated – it’s just not logical," she said.

Peter Hall said the Coalition is against the TAFE changes: "I think it’s absolutely ridiculous that the Government wants more people to access training and get educated but in order to do this they’ve increased the fees," he said.

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TAFE student Vas and his family at the TAFE4All rally at parliament steps today. What a day!!

Check out all the photos at the TAFE4All Facebook page - and remember to "like" the group so you catch all our updates.

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At 12noon today TAFE students from Dandenong take their message to the steps of Parliament House that increasing their TAFE fees is NOT ON. Join the action - look for the TAFE4All t-shirts!

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Over 140 e-lobbies have been sent to local members - this is great work! Now let's aim for four times that number.

Haven't sent your e-lobby yet? Click here.

And if you have sent it, pass this information on! The e-lobby we've set up makes it easy to email your local MP directly. Let them know you believe in fair access to TAFE for ALL Victorians, not just those with money, and that it's an issue you're prepared to vote for.

Sending the e-lobby is easy: type in your postcode and your local MP's name and email address will appear. Type the MP's name at the beginning of the email, and your name at the end – then click send.

Remember you can edit the email to add your own message about the TAFE changes, and how they've affected you or someone you know. Your stories have more power than the template alone.

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Is fair access to TAFE for ALL Victorians, not just those with money, an issue you're prepared to vote for? Then it's time to let our politicians know it.

Care about TAFEs? Email your local MP now.

We've set up an email template that lets you email your local MP directly in two easy steps:

1) Type in your postcode. Your local MP's name and email address will appear.

2) Add the MP's name at the beginning of the email, and your name at the end – then click send!

You can change the email to add your own message about the TAFE changes, and how they've affected you or someone you know. The more personal the email the more impact it has, so take the time to add your own two cents' worth. Then encourage others to do the same.

In the lead-up to the State Election, there is no better time to let the State Government know its TAFE changes are unacceptable, and that fair access to education is an issue that could decide our vote.

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My disabled daughter has been directly impacted by the TAFE changes. She has completed a traineeship at Certificate III and now has been told she has no longer a job with her employer who has cleverly sold on his business and taken all incentives for her with no obligation to her future in the fast food outlet.

She is now faced with unemployment or having to pay full fees for a Certificate IV with no concession available! NOT much of a future career choice for a 24 year old.

Think again Skills Victoria: there are a great many young people in this situation, particularly those of a low socio-economic status.

My daughter has a good study and training history with NMIT, her preferred TAFE, and she now has to try to navigate the training sector herself to find what she can afford. This is an impossible task for someone with an intellectual impairment and there is no guarantee that her new provider will have the capacity to manage her disability and support her.

She has no prospect of future employment without the necessary bit of paper.

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I'm currently completing my Advanced Diploma in Marketing at RMIT in Melbourne. This past semester gone my fees were $979 for the semester,  after a $170 carry-over from the previous year, as I had been overcharged. Therefore, my fees totalled $1,149 - $200 more expensive than last year.

In addition to the increased cost of a TAFE education the discount provided to those students with a healthcare card was abolished. This meant that the students, like myself, that were recognised by the government as needing financial support were no longer able to receive a discount on their TAFE fees.

I have enrolled in this course as an ulterior path to get into university, which is a common path students take. University students have the option of having a commonwealth funded place in order to undertake their studies. However, there is no such system for TAFE students. I believe my education is just as important and valid as those going straight into a university course, and I find it unfair that we should not gain equivalent support that university students have access to.

Although I understand that there is a significant difference in the cost of a university education as opposed to TAFE, I still feel that expecting full-time TAFE students - in my situation studying 22 hours a week - to fund their education as well as their basic lifestyle to be unreasonable.

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