Dapto's TAFE campus could be facing its final year if the Liberal government is returned to power at the upcoming state election, Shellharbour MP Anna Watson has claimed.
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Ms Watson was among a contingent of Illawarra Labor politicians and candidates who met outside the campus on Thursday to highlight the party's concerns about cuts to the state's biggest education and training provider.
The gathering coincided with Illawarra TAFE's Choices Day, an open day for students to explore their study options.
Ms Watson said feedback from the community had raised serious concerns about the future of the campus after rounds of funding cuts, mass sackings, course cuts and fee hikes.
"Is 2015 the last year that we will see Dapto campus in operation? That is the question that the community is asking," she said.
"Since 2011 we've seen a drastic decline in the numbers at Dapto TAFE, not only student numbers but a decline in teacher numbers; we've seen the closure of the library, the closure of the canteen.
"The community is very worried, people want their kids to be able to get a decent education in a state that's able to afford it, and we can."
Member for Keira and opposition education and training spokesman Ryan Park said Labor was committed to ensuring TAFE remained strong, affordable and accessible by capping fees at 2014 levels, capping funding to private sector training providers, and scrapping the Smart and Skilled reforms, which shortened trade course lengths and pulled courses from some locations.
"All of us in this area know that we're going through significant change in terms of our industries, people are going from traditional trades and needing to re-skill in other areas and TAFE has always been the major provider of that," he said.