BOTH Sunraysia Institute of TAFE and the Victorian Government have played down concerns from the Opposition that the organisation has operated without a full board of directors for almost a month.
The government introduced legislation last year to vacate every board member across the state’s 12 TAFE institutions and change the process of board appointments from July 1 this year.
The legislation, aimed at improving transparency and governance in the TAFE sector, mandated government ministers to appoint half of the new board members, who would then decide on the rest of the positions and elect new chairs.
Minister for Training and Skills Steve Herbert last month announced 54 per cent of the director positions had been appointed, with boards entering in the process of choosing the remaining positions and electing ongoing chairs.
Mr Herbert said SuniTAFE was “in good hands” following the appointment of six board members, which included new chief executive Geoff Dea, a staff-elected member.
However, Opposition spokeswoman for Training and Skills and Deputy Leader of the Nationals Steph Ryan questioned why it had taken so long for the recruitment process to occur, given the government’s legislation came into effect in January.
For more on this story, grab a copy of Wednesday’s Guardian (July 27).
