Thursday, 15 August 2019

 Ms LOVELL (Northern Victoria) (18:13): My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Education and relates to the substandard learning conditions endured by students at Hopetoun P–12 College. The action that I seek from the minister is, considering the disgusting condition of the science and technology areas that students at Hopetoun P–12 College are forced to learn in, that the minister provide immediate funding to complete an internal renovation of this area of the school.

I previously raised this issue of the substandard conditions of the science and food technology areas at Hopetoun P–12 College with the minister in April. This building is used by students for home economics and science classes and was built in 1964. It has had no capital works improvement since its construction. The science room has not changed in 55 years apart from the installation of a whiteboard and a projector, while the student workbenches around the perimeter of the room are completely worn out. The food technology room has old benches and stoves—including an old combustion stove—leaking sinks, outdated and ineffective extraction systems, poor lighting and archaic equipment. The building’s condition is impacting negatively on Hopetoun P–12 College’s VCE, VET and Victorian certificate of applied learning offerings and on the lead-up programs offered in the primary years through to the middle years of secondary school.

During the parliamentary break I travelled to Hopetoun so I could see firsthand the condition of the science and food technology building. It is best described as disgraceful. In his reply to my constituency question the minister stated that Hopetoun P–12 College would undergo a maintenance condition assessment in 2020 as part of the rolling facilities evaluation project. This has no connection with the capital works funding required for the renovation, as funding from this project can only be used for items identified in the maintenance assessment and cannot be used for capital works projects such as the much-needed internal renovation of this college.

To tour the facilities myself and to see that the students are forced to put bowls of water around the table legs to prevent mice from getting on the food prep benches really emphasises the need for an upgrade of this facility. Hopetoun P–12 College students are severely disadvantaged as they do not have access to facilities and equipment anywhere near the standard needed to provide quality VCE classes. Students have no incentive to pursue the food or science areas because the training is compromised by the unacceptable condition of the building provided by the Department of Education and Training. Again, the action that I seek from the minister is to provide immediate funding to complete an internal renovation of the science and food technology building at Hopetoun P–12 College.