Tuesday, 18 June 2024

Selective high schools

Trung LUU (Western Metropolitan) (22:12): (962) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Education regarding selective entry schools in the state of Victoria. The action I seek is for the minister to allocate funding towards building additional selective entry schools to cater for growing culturally and linguistically diverse communities in regional Victoria. During the recent inquiry into the state education system the question was put whether we should build more selective schools to expand on the four schools we have currently, in comparison to New South Wales, where there are 48 schools.

This is not the first time this issue has been raised. On 6 April 2023 via an Age article my former colleague the then Shadow Minister for Education Dr Matthew Bach outlined the coalition’s plan to build 10 new selective entry schools within the next decade, an increase on the four currently in Victoria. This would include three schools in regional Victoria and one in the outer northern suburbs, providing these underfunded growth areas of Victoria with the high-quality education they deserve. This proposal was also supported by education expert Dr Leonie Kronborg from Monash University, who said:

Recent research showed gifted students in high-ability grouped classes showed higher achievement gains than gifted students in regular classes …

With CALD communities prioritising education, our education system should encourage and reward the most hardworking and talented students, not try to slow down their educational development. Effectively implementing selective schools in regional areas will also benefit regional students proportionately. All students in Victoria’s educational system should receive a fair and good education, something that selective schools can provide. So I ask the minister: will this Allan government commit to building 10 more selective schools to provide important, high-quality education opportunities for both CALD and regional communities to keep Victoria the Education State, as it should be?