Cuts to VCAL will hurt students in the west
Member for Williamstown, Wade Noonan MP, has described the decision by the Baillieu Government to slash $12 million per year for Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) Coordinators as ignorant and inconceivable.
The Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) is a hands-on option for students in Years 11 and 12. VCAL provides students with work-related experience, literacy and numeracy skills, and the opportunity to develop personal skills in order to prepare them for further education, training or employment. Like the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE), VCAL is an accredited secondary certificate.
“It’s obvious that education and skills training are not priorities for the Baillieu Government, but this funding cut for VCAL Coordinators is particularly bad news for students in the western suburbs,” Mr Noonan said.
“For a whole range of reasons, not every child goes on to complete VCE and it is crucial that we give students alternative pathways.”
“At a time when we should be prioritising education, the Baillieu Government seems intent on ripping the guts out of public education. This decision is both ignorant and inconceivable.”
The VCAL Coordinators are essential to the success of these programs as they help to develop curriculum and assessment materials, build partnerships with local employment networks, as well as coordinate student administration.
“I know that a VCAL Coordinator’s role is very complex and demanding,” Mr Noonan said.
“And I know for a fact that Bayside College received absolutely no notice of this annual $60,000 funding cut, which currently supports about 60 students.”
“What makes this decision more perplexing is that it comes less than 12 months after the Federal Labor Government announced that Bayside College would share in $9 million to establish a Trade Training Centre at their Paisley Campus.”
“It seems pointless to invest heavily in buildings and equipment if you don’t match that investment with appropriate levels of staffing.”
“Anyone who understands the VCAL program will tell you that it’s a great way of ensuring that disadvantaged and disengaged students don’t simply drop out of school.”
The VCAL funding cuts are the first major blow to frontline services stemming from the $481 million cuts announced in the 2011/12 State Budget.
