Wollongong TAFE fashion students claim they've been stitched up by fee hikes after allegedly being told their course fees will rise from $534 to $29,000 in 2015.
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To add insult to injury, sisters Emma and Brooke Stapleton, and fellow student Jess Dellabosca have been told their West Wollongong campus will cease to offer fashion courses in 2015.
"We can't afford it, we're not from rich families, that's why we study through TAFE and not private colleges," Emma Stapleton said.
"Even if we continue, it's going to cost $50 in transport a week and it takes two hours just to get to the Sydney campus."
The students said they were prevented from relocating closer to Sydney's Ultimo campus due to the city's high living costs.
"We can't afford Sydney and we won't get anything to move," Brooke Stapleton said.
Emma and her sister are now exploring more extreme solutions.
"We're looking at moving overseas to study because it's a lot cheaper," she said.
TAFE Illawarra confirmed in a statement that the Diploma of Applied Fashion Design and Technology would not be subsidised as it was not on the NSW government's skills list.
The statement verified the course would no longer be offered in Wollongong, citing reduced employment opportunities in the textile industry as a reason.
Changes to TAFE funding and fees arrived under the sweeping "Smart and Skilled" reforms, which shortened trade course lengths and pulled courses from some locations.
Under the system, courses listed on the Smart and Skilled list were eligible for a government subsidy, meaning students paid a small proportion of the fee and the government would cover the gap.
According to the Smart and Skilled estimates, students completing the fashion diploma would face a total unsubsidised fee of $15,850.
TAFE NSW would not reveal the 2015 costs for the Diploma of Applied Fashion Design and Technology when contacted by the Mercury.
The tuition fee for the same diploma at the private Whitehouse Institute of Design is set at $21,600.
Similar system overhauls launched by Liberal governments in other states have drawn criticism for subsidising private colleges while increasing fees for some TAFE courses.
Western Australian TAFE enrolments dropped by 22 per cent after some course fees trebled.
Private providers have the same eligibility as TAFE for the subsidies, a provision labelled by NSW Labor as a privatisation program.
Member for Keira and shadow minister for education and training Ryan Park announced TAFE funding would be secured under a NSW Labor government.
"A Labor government will always invest in TAFE in NSW ... TAFE has served the Illawarra well and as our local economy transitions from traditional industries, people need to access affordable training," he said.
Mr Park said last week's Labor victory at the Victorian election was a warning sign to government that education funding mattered to voters.
"It sent a clear signal to all governments that the community expects affordable and accessible education."
