Tertiary Prostitution Courses
NZPA reports how officials from the Tertiary Education Commission said funding for prostitution training courses could be considered under new criteria.
I think the sums up well what Katherine Rich labelled as the “agnostic” attitude that TEC seems to have had towards course content. I don’t think the Government should be selective about what courses are offered by tertiary providers, but they sure as hell should be selective about what they fund. It should be more than justcorrectly ticking the right boxes on a criteria form.
Under the TEC reign (and to be fair it has been better lately) we have seen hundreds of millions of dollars go on low quality courses which are almost scams. Certain tertiary providers have shown huge innovation at how they rort the system.
Whale Oil enjoys himself in proposing specific courses such as “Advanced Book-keeping for whores” 
July 19th, 2007 at 4:57 am
Dear Sir
I would like to apply for the job of tutor for your course in prostitution.
Please would you send me the Position Description?
July 19th, 2007 at 7:23 am
Do they need volunteers for the practical classes?
July 19th, 2007 at 7:30 am
Your complaining about this?
It would seem in NZ’s interests that our “service industry” is er… “well trained”, however you might take that…
more seriously, it’s probably about trying to get them to pay taxes as oposed to just acting illegally.
July 19th, 2007 at 7:31 am
Correction, it probably WOULD be more about getting them to pay taxes and obey other laws as well as remaining sexually safe.
July 19th, 2007 at 7:34 am
It is to further the cause of equal opportunity:
“We are an equal opportunity university – we don’t discriminate on the grounds of intellectual ability!”
July 19th, 2007 at 8:53 am
I have to posted this elsewhere, but zI htink this is a beat up, where the headlines and content differ remarkably from reality.
So what is this report actually about?
In select committee Katherine Rich asked a hypothetical question of the TEC, that if someone proposed a course on prostitution what they would do. The TEC answered, hypothetically, that they would have to consider it as they consider all proposed courses. At no point has anyone seriously proposed such a course.
Is there a problem worthy of debate? Yes, and that is around the guidelines the government has set the TEC from which they must review all proposed tertiary courses.
At this time they must go through the same process for all courses. It could be argued that the TEC should be allowed to reject, on application without review, courses they deem inappropriate for our tertiary sector.
There are problems with this approach, in that if the TEC became stacked with a particular political leaning they may reject courses from that basis, which would curtail academic freedom.
July 19th, 2007 at 9:03 am
The new TEC quidelines are a whitewash in reaction to the wananga wasting 1/4 billion of taxpayers money. Its just so they can appear to be doing something but then carry on business as usual increasing employment in the tertiary sector by running pet homeopathy, twightlight golf and literacy courses to univerisity students whie employong their uneducated voters to do it.
Nothing new here…as usual
July 19th, 2007 at 9:30 am
Forget the wind-up about prostitution – that’s just a rhetorical device.
There are much bigger issues in tertiary education. As well as funding rubbish (because the system is so easy to play games with), we are losing valuable courses!
For example, all the IT Unit Standards and qualifications on the Qualifications Framework above level 4 are being disestablished. These are the qualifications that students gain to enter the support and infrastructure areas of IT. (Yes, there are industry certifications but TEC doesn’t fund them)
Now they were badly in need to review and updating. But not dumping.
The situation now is that every TEI which offers these courses must devise their own, and get NZQA and TEC approval. There were about 40 of them last time I looked. So we will be left with a lot of courses which neither employers nor students can easily compare. Some will be very poor, but no-one will know until groups of students have been through them.
Bugger the information economy eh?
July 19th, 2007 at 9:30 am
Porcupine – If I recall correctly, in the case of the Te Wananga investigation, the terms of reference for the Auditor-General excluded the “no bums on seats” aspect. So just another of the toothless enquiries down the gurgler. New Zealand’s transparency remains intact?
July 19th, 2007 at 9:36 am
What are the real facts of this story or is it like Socrates has posted. The media score another home goal for journalistic integrity.
July 19th, 2007 at 9:52 am
As an aside. There are already courses for prostitutes. They are called Massage Therapy. Brothel owners already send their workers on these to “upskill”.
July 19th, 2007 at 10:33 am
Debate absolutely but, there would be little to no point in establishing Prostitution Training Courses. Despite the theory not being a bad idea, given that servicing men and their penis’s can be as complex as it is fascinating, no-one would attend. Even those aspiring to becoming prostitutes would find other ways to learn their required skills. Too many stigmas still attached mean providers will want no association with the venue for starters, and more often than not those entering the industry want to begin yesterday, forward planning is rarely on the agenda.
July 19th, 2007 at 12:10 pm
It’s now on fox:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,289801,00.html
July 19th, 2007 at 12:10 pm
It’s now made it onto fox:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,289801,00.html
July 19th, 2007 at 4:58 pm
How do you make a hormone?
Don’t pay her.
July 19th, 2007 at 5:03 pm
LOL, one business where ‘earn as you learn’ and ‘hands-on experience required’ have been established principles since probably before money was invented. From what I’ve heard your ability to earn as a prostitute is inversely proportional to your training and experience.
July 19th, 2007 at 6:38 pm
yous want to see penelope she got a degree of it
http://peterquixote.blogspot.com/
July 19th, 2007 at 6:46 pm
A Maori group is running a government funded research centre from a tin garage in Wanganui
July 20th, 2007 at 6:37 pm
If I had my way repealing the Prostitution Law Reform bill would be an election issue. Hands up all those who endorse prostitution as a career choice for their children. It’s right up there with being a rural GP I reckon.
July 24th, 2007 at 6:37 am
The long-awaited changes to teritary funding, are finally announced and they are light on detail. Typical Cullen. Oh and I loved the comment in the article ” the funding of courses was an operational matter for the TEC.”
The press coverage was all about possible funding for prostitution courses and provides little information on how and if the new funding is going to stop Universities losing disenchanted staff due to underfunding.
August 14th, 2007 at 11:56 am
fastsize review…
fastsize review…