BENDIGO Senior Secondary College principal Dale Pearce says a cut of $12 million funding to the VCAL program will hurt the students who need it the most.
The state government has altered the funding for the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning, which means Bendigo Senior Secondary College will have a shortfall of $120,000.
The school has the highest number of students studying VCAL in the state, with 260 students enrolled in the program.
Mr Pearce said the VCAL program had been hugely successful with the school’s retention rates and was a great opportunity for students who wanted to do an apprenticeship or go straight into work.
“It’s been holding students in who would not otherwise have continued with their education,” he said.
“Over time we will have to shed staff. It’s certainly going to have an impact on us and we’ll need to trim back the programs.
“It’s a little disappointing to us that the cuts have been made given there was an indication from the government that they wouldn’t make cuts that would directly impact on schools and students.
“We would be seeking some transitional support to see this impacted over two or three years when a school such as ours is going to be hit so hard in terms of the funding cut.
“A lot of the work with these students is really case work particularly in terms of identifying work placements and getting students out into work places and that requires grind and case management and there is no way to replace that.”
Member for Bendigo East Jacinta Allan said Bendigo Senior Secondary College relied on the $120,000 funding to employ staff who helped students with their study and provided them with work placements to help set them up for life after school.
“We recognised there was a group of young people in our school system who needed an extra support to be able to go on to work once they finished school.
“These are the kids that aren’t going to university they’re not necessarily going to TAFE.
“The ultimate losers in this are the students and these are the students that need the support the most,” she said.
A spokesman for the Minister for Education Martin Dixon said the changes to the funding arrangements purely relate to the co-ordination of the program and not the actual funding for students.
He said there would be no impact on students.
He said when VCAL was introduced in 2002 additional funding was provided for the co-ordination of all VCAL programs.
“Additional support is also being provided to schools through the work of workplace learning co-ordinators across the state and established Local Learning and Employment Networks, that broker partnerships with employers, industry, community organisations, business and other education and training providers,” he said.
“Funding for the delivery of VCAL programs in 2012 has been maintained and provision for growth in enrolments has been provided for in school funding.
“It is only the additional co-ordination funding used to establish the program that has been discontinued.
“Schools will still have the ability to provide for VCAL co-ordination consistent with the provision of VCE, including Vocational Educational and Training in Schools, which does not receive co-ordination funding.”
He said the department of education would monitor the changes.
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