Students in Victoria to be home-schooled and Year 12 pupils will have final exams delayed until December amid coronavirus crackdown
- Victorian students will be home-schooled for term two starting next Wednesday
- Year 12 exams are expected to be postponed until at least December
- Premier Daniel Andrews ruled out the idea of a ‘Year 13’ for final year students
Students in Victoria will have to complete term two online and final exams for graduating pupils will be postponed until at least December.
Premier Daniel Andrews on Tuesday unveiled the state government’s new plan for students that will reshape the education system for the next few months.
Beginning next Wednesday, all students will be educated through online learning as the country battles to contain coronavirus.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said he hoped students could receive an ATAR in the state by the beginning of 2021 at the latest
Beginning next Wednesday, all students in Victoria will be educated through an online learning system as the country battles to contain coronavirus
‘If you can learn from home, you must learn from home, and you will be supported to get the best educational experience possible,’ Mr Andrews said in a press conference.
‘We cannot have a million students moving around the Victorian community every day. All that will do is spread the virus, and undermine the really significant progress that we’ve made, notwithstanding the fact that we’re in this for the long haul and these things can change,’ he added.
Mr Andrews said exceptions will be made for children of parents who cannot leave their kids unsupervised at home while they continue to go to work.
‘If you can’t learn from home, then schools will be open and we will run the same courses, we don’t want kids disadvantaged because of circumstances beyond their own control,’ he said.
Schools have been closed in Victoria because of the coronavirus outbreak since March 24.
State officials meanwhile have worked alongside the federal government to create a robust distance learning plan for students amid the health crisis.
The premier ruled out the idea of a ‘Year 13’, or extra year of school for Year 12 students, and said the government is committed to seeing students complete their VCEs this year.
Year 12 exams are expected to be postponed until at least December and universities will likely be asked to delay the start of the 2021 academic year.
‘An awful lot of work is being done to get our Year 12s through. We’re not about years 13 or people repeating,’ he said.
‘We think that we can get this done. As soon as we can provide more detail to our Year 12 cohort, and indeed, all students and their families, of course, we will.
‘But Year 12, just like school for every student on day one of term two, is going to be different. It’s going to look different, it’s going to unfold in a different way.’
Earlier on Tuesday, Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan echoed Mr Daniels comments regarding the idea of Year 13, saying: ‘Every state and territory education minister – and it’s my strong view as well – do not want to see that.’
‘We want to make sure that we can get as many students through this year as we possibly can,’ he told ABC radio.
Mr Tehan’s personal preference is adjusting ATAR scores across the country to account for COVID-19 or changing the university assessment system.
‘We want to make sure that this year 12 cohort does not suffer as a result of the coronavirus,’ he said.
‘We want them to be able to pursue their dreams for university, for vocational education, or whether they want to go into work next year.’
Pictured: Geelong Grammar School. Year 12 exams are expected to be postponed until at least December and universities will likely be asked to delay the start of the 2021 academic year