High quality education and training for lifelong learning
Victoria today
By international standards, Victorian primary school children have very good literacy and numeracy skills. Compared to other parts of Australia, we have a high rate of young people completing secondary schooling. We have shown our commitment to high-quality education and training by rebuilding Victoria’s schools and TAFE facilities, recruiting more than 5,000 full time teaching and other staff in schools, reducing class sizes, and developing the new Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) to provide an alternative qualification to the traditional Year 12 certificate.
Challenges ahead
The education and training system needs continued improvement if we are to keep up with the rest of the world. Wide variations exist in the results achieved by students of different socio-economic backgrounds, and too many students are leaving school before completing their secondary education. To participate in the modern economy, more adult Victorians need to increase their skills through further education and training.
Measuring progress
One way we can measure progress towards a higher quality education and training system is through looking at the experiences of all social and age groups throughout the system. Developing strong literacy and numeracy skills in primary school is the basis for advanced education and training. Every student should aim to complete Year 12 or its equivalent (such as an apprenticeship or traineeship) as a foundation qualification for stable and rewarding employment. In addition, all Victorians should have the opportunity to continue to learn throughout their lives.
- The proportion of Victorian primary students achieving the national benchmark levels for reading, writing and numeracy will be at or above the national average
- By 2010, 90 per cent of young people in Victoria will successfully complete Year 12 or its educational equivalent
- The level of participation in vocational education and training of adults aged 25-64 years will increase
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