The Baillieu-Ryan Government should immediately reinstate funding for an education program that gives school students important hands-on training in the workforce, Member for Northern Victoria, Candy Broad said.
Visiting Wallan Secondary College today, Ms Broad called on the Government to rethink its heartless decision to cut $12 million for coordinators of the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) program.
“VCAL is an important senior secondary qualification for year 11 and 12 students and is offered as an alternative study option to VCE “, Ms Broad said.
“Schools in my electorate of Northern Victoria 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”.
Ms Broad said the school community in Wallan 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.
“Mr Baillieu needs to explain to families and students of Wallan Secondary College how slashing funding and programs to VCAL assists students training and future work prospects,” Ms Broad said.
“In rural and regional Victoria this program 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 in Australia, and has taken away the School Start Bonus from 100,000 Victorian families,” Ms Broad said.
“It appears Victorian students are not a priority for this Government and it’s time that Mr Baillieu starts investing in their education, not cutting important job training opportunities for them.”