CATHOLIC College Wodonga principal Darren Hovey says the devil is in the details regarding the state government's proposed changes to the VCE.
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Under the proposal, announced by Victorian education minister James Merlino on Monday morning, VCE and VCAL students will receive a grade of either 'not demonstrated', ‘demonstrated’ or 'highly demonstrated’ for reading, writing and numeracy, which will be recorded in their statement of results.
The statement of results is scrutinised by universities, and crucially, employers.
As part of the plan, Labor is committing to a $187 million plan to employ 700 expert teachers over the next four years, to provide tutoring for at least two hours a week for students in danger of not meeting the standards.
The key will be how supported we are in regional areas, across all sectors.
- Darren Hovey
Mr Hovey said the manner in which those 700 teachers were spread out across the state would be crucial, but added there were some reasons to be optimistic as well.
“I'd really like to know a bit more detail, where are these people going to be, between schools like ours, Wodonga Senior Secondary College, and others,” he said.
“If we're going to go down this track, we need these teachers to be in regional areas.
“I'd hate for them to only be in places like Bendigo and Ballarat.”
Mr Hovey said those teachers would be crucial to making sure certain students were not discouraged.
“The question will be how this affects those students who struggle with exams, some VCAL students,” he said.
“The last thing schools want is more students dropping out, that is something we need to be very mindful of.
“The aspirations of regional students tend to be lower than those in metropolitan areas, and with the movement towards exams, if that helps assist us in lifting those aspirations, then this is a good thing.
“The key will be how supported we are in regional areas, across all sectors.”
Mr Merlino said the planned changes had been something employers had been requesting for some time.
“This is a change that has been called for by employers for some time, and with this additional support we will give every student the opportunity to be job ready,” he said.
“This is the single biggest investment in individualised support in the state’s history.”
