"Outstanding" VCAL report embarrasses Baillieu
15 September 2011
A senior government authority has praised the success of the VCAL program in its annual report, tabled in parliament just weeks after the Baillieu Government announced $48 million worth of cuts to the program.
The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) CEO John Firth reported that 86.9% of VCAL students in 2010 were participating in further education, training or work, which he described as “an outstanding achievement”.
The VCAA annual report emphasises the “very important” role the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) plays in providing a vocational pathway for senior secondary students.
Community outrage has been building in response to the State Government’s decision to slash coordination funding, which schools use to build and maintain links with local businesses and training providers and to support students.
The report, which notes that VCAL “continues to cement partnerships between schools and communities, especially in rural Victoria,” further demonstrates the crucial role VCAL coordinators play in the program’s success.
Firth said the annual VCAL awards always provide “many inspiring stories of how students have developed and thrived” under the applied learning of VCAL.
“Participation continues to grow in terms of both students and providers, and it is now a well-established and necessary component of our senior secondary offerings.”
The AEU is calling on the Baillieu Government to reinstate funding to the VCAL program as a matter of urgency.
“This cruel cut to a program which is delivering such great outcomes for some of our most disadvantaged students must be reversed,” AEU branch president Mary Bluett said.
Shadow education minister Rob Hulls says the VCAA report “makes a mockery of the Baillieu Government’s callous funding cut to VCAL.”
The Government’s cuts to VCAL will have a huge impact on schools — some saying they would be forced to cut back or discontinue the program. Just today, the nine education providers looking to newly establish VCAL in 2012 have expressed their dismay at the loss of funding to help set up the program.
Please visit My School Needs and let the State Government know that cuts to VCAL put vulnerable kids at risk.
