Victorian students have already been forced to miss up to 7 months of face-to-face learning due to Labor’s second wave.
Now, they have been short-changed by the Andrews Labor Government’s tutoring program.
The NSW Government in its recent budget has committed $87 million more than Victoria’s State Labor Government for tutoring in schools despite NSW students missing only 29 days of face-to-face learning.
Reports suggest that the setback from remote learning is worse than expected for NSW students, with check-in assessments revealing students had fallen three to four months behind in reading and numeracy.
Assessment of Victorian students’ progress during remote learning is currently being undertaken in the classrooms. While it is crucial for teachers, schools and parents to know students’ learning levels to provide adequate support, the government must also back this hard work up with the level of funding to meet students’ needs.
At a Parliamentary committee this morning, Labor’s Education Minister acknowledged that some Victorian students had undoubtedly struggled during remote learning and that vulnerable and disadvantaged students are at highest risk of falling behind.
But the government’s own policy plans for only 20 per cent of the student population receiving three, 45 minute, group sessions of tutoring for the 2021 calendar year.
Comments attributable to Shadow Minister for Education, Cindy McLeish:
“By allocating millions of dollars less in funding to tutoring than the NSW government, the Andrews Labor Government appears to have drastically underestimated the impact remote learning has had on student learning.
“Looking at NSW student assessment results, it is scary to think of how far behind Victorian students may have fallen during multiple months of remote learning.
“The Andrews Labor Government needs to prioritise giving students the best chance possible to make up lost ground.”
