Member for Northern Victoria Region, Candy Broad has called on the Baillieu-Ryan Government to do the right thing and reinstate funding for the VCAL program so that students are provided with the important hands-on training they need to get into the workforce and undertake further education and training.
On 18 August, schools learnt that the Baillieu-Ryan government is cutting $12 million per year from the budget for coordination of the Victorian certificate of applied learning (VCAL) program.
Speaking in Parliament yesterday, Ms Broad said that schools in her electorate of Northern Victoria Region have been expressing their concern that this cut will result in fewer options and pathways for students, fewer students completing school and fewer civic and business community links leading to local jobs for students in hospitality, agriculture, horticulture, building and construction, and engineering, to name but a few.
“School communities in Mildura, Wallan, Broadford and Seymour have expressed their view that this funding cut is a short-sighted political decision that flies in the face of common sense and undermines a program that attracts students because it links them to training and jobs”, Ms Broad said.
“In rural and regional Victoria this cut is particularly unfair and unjust because students already face greater hurdles to completing school, finding jobs and accessing further education and training opportunities”.
Ms Broad said this decision was part of the Baillieu-Ryan Government’s $481 million cuts to the education sector.
“In the past nine months, Mr Baillieu has halved the school capital works budget, is refusing to deliver on his commitment to make Victorian teachers the highest paid inAustralia, and has taken away the School Start Bonus from 100,000 Victorian families,” Ms Broad said.
“It’s time this Government starts investing in education, not cutting services, but unfortunately it appears Victorian students are not a priority for the Coalition.”