“We’re kicking off Term 1 with more schools and more support than ever before to help families with the costs of living, and the costs of learning,” Premier Jacinta Allan said, as she joined education minister Ben Carroll in officially opening northern suburb Mickleham’s new Yubup Primary School – one of 75 schools the Labor Government has opened since 2019.
The new Yubup Primary School, named after a Woi-wurrung word meaning ‘parakeet’, has capacity for 650 students and modern facilities including a large library, a community hub with an indoor multi-use court, arts and music spaces, hard courts, a sports field and a canteen.
But while the Labor Government said it had invested more than $527.2 million in the Victorian Budget 2022/23 to build eight new primary schools, four new secondary schools and two new specialist schools across the state’s fastest-growing areas, the State Opposition said unfortunately students across the state return to the classroom this year in a worse position, and with a poorer outlook, than when they left last year.
With nearly 800 teaching and classroom support roles vacant in Victoria, the teacher shortage crisis will continue to deny students the high-quality education they deserve, the Opposition said.
Futurity Investment Group’s 2024 report on the most, and least, affordable cities in Australia for schooling revealed last week that Melbourne is the most expensive city in Australia to educate a child in a government school.
The report estimates the total cost of a public school education in Melbourne will be $108,879 over 13-years for a child starting school in 2024 – an increase of $6072 compared to last year’s estimate.
This is 17 per cent higher than the national capital city average and upwards of $14,000 more expensive than sending a child to a government school in Sydney, with costs forecast to grow by 30 per cent over the next decade.
These follow recent PISA data which confirmed educational outcomes for 15-year-old Victorian students across reading, mathematics and science are at record lows.
On top of the additional costs on families, the Opposition said the Government had flagged cuts to education in the upcoming State Budget as Victoria’s net debt is set to reach $177.6 billion by 2026-27 – more than New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania combined.
Shadow Minister for Early Childhood and Education, Jess Wilson, said students and families starting their school journey today deserve better.
“Under Labor, Victoria has a teacher shortage crisis, finance changes that will shift costs onto parents and pending cuts to school budgets,” Wilson said.
“This is not the path to reversing record low literacy, maths and science outcomes, or ensuring every student is supported to reach their full potential.
“Instead of making life harder for Victorian students and families, the Allan Government must ease cost pressures and deliver an education that equips young Victorians with the skills they need for life,” she said.
Wilson also said the Government is hiding the true depth of the teacher shortage crisis and has no plan to fix it.
“While Minister Carroll throws numbers around, Victorian kids are starting the school year without a permanent teacher.
“Rather than buck passing to the Commonwealth, [Carroll] needs to take responsibility for the Victorian education system and ensure every student has a permanent classroom teacher.
“Labor’s teacher shortage crisis is robbing students of the high-quality education they deserve and with student outcomes at record lows, must be addressed as a matter of urgency.”
Appearing on ABCTV this morning from Derinya Primary School in Melbourne's Frankston, Federal Education Minister, Jason Clare, said “a little bit of good news here in Victoria is a 10 per cent increase this year in the number of offers to young people to study teaching”.
“That’s a good sign,” he said.
“I think the Victorian Government offering to pay the HECS for students wanting to study teaching has helped – plus the Commonwealth Government now offering $40,000 scholarships to encourage more people to want to study teaching is a big part of that.”
Defending its record, the Allan Government said in a statement, that it has invested more than $14.9 billion in education, with the school building boom creating more than 21,200 jobs in construction and other industries.
It is “delivering more programs and initiatives than ever before to support hardworking families with the cost of living – and the cost of learning”, it said.
All public and Catholic school students are eligible for free dental care through the Labor Government’s Smile Squad initiative, and students with vision impairment that may otherwise go undiagnosed are supported with the free Glasses for Kids program.
School Breakfast Clubs, the Government said, provide millions of healthy meals for kids across the state – and the School Student Broadband initiative, Affordable School Uniforms program and Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund “make sure no student misses out”.
