THE principal of a Sydenham school has urged the state Education Minister to reconsider cuts to the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning.
Martin Dixon visited Catholic Regional College Sydenham on Thursday to tour the school’s trades training facilities and meet principal Brendan Watson and students.
The government is cutting $12 million of annual VCAL co-ordination funding over four years.
VCAL is designed to keep young people in school by combining industry experience with their education. It has been offered in Victoria since 2003.
A recent Opposition survey of 116 schools affected by the cuts showed close to 80 per cent of them had to make cuts elsewhere to continue running the program. Some schools were employing fewer teachers and going into debt in order to keep VCAL going.
Mr Watson said many students at the college wouldn’t be in high school if it wasn’t for VCAL.
“About 19 schools in the local area send students to our school for vocational education and training and we are very successful because we combine training with work placement.
“We already have a skills shortage in Australia. Cutting back on funding to VCAL can only lead to higher unemployment. The qualifications we provide are meaningful and lead to better pathways.”
Mr Watson said his school had not had to make changes to the way it ran VCAL because the Catholic archdiocese was covering this year’s funding losses. Year 12 student Rebecca Mercieca, who is completing certificate III in children’s services, said the course would give her the chance to study at university.
“If I didn’t have this pathway,” she said, “I’d be working full-time at a fast-food restaurant. My parents believe this is a better option for me.”
Mr Dixon’s spokesman, James Martin, said the minister was blown away by the school’s facilities but it was up to the school how it ran its VCAL program.
“If the Catholic archdiocese is assisting the school then maybe the school can negotiate for it to be ongoing,” he said.
“The only changes are to co-ordination funding and the more students enrolled at the school, the more funding they will get.
“Funding to students remains unchanged.”
