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Local students still left in the lurchRussell Northe's statement concerning the local students who have been left in the lurch. Read the full article below... By news@gippsland - 9th August 2016 - Back to News Member for Morwell Russell Northe is calling on the Andrews State Government to resolve ongoing concerns for local students who have been left in the lurch following the closure of a number of Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) in May.
The Andrews Government had previously made a number of commitments on how they were going to improve education and training, but the cases of these local students verifies that the complete opposite is occurring.
Mr Northe said the concerns of local students have been raised in Parliament and multiple letters sent to the Minster for Training and Skills, Steve Herbert.
Unfortunately only negligible responses at best had been received.
Mr Northe’s most recent letter to the Minister was on Monday 11th July but to date no response has been received.
Mr Northe said the Minister had previously stated that students and staff would be supported, but the feedback I have received from students is that a number of issues remain unresolved.
"It’s unacceptable that students are receiving conflicting information and a complete lack of support from the Andrews Government," Mr Northe said.
The concerns of students provided to the Minister include:
- Students ineligible for the Victorian Training Guarantee (VTG) are thousands of dollars out of pocket and unable to complete courses they were initially enrolled in;
- Despite the Minister previously stating that "exemptions" to the VTG could well apply to local students this has not occurred;
- Students have not had their previously completed training units and/or work placement recognised in statement of attainments;
"So in summary we have students thousands of dollars out of pocket and forced to pay thousands more to recommence a course; we have students who have had their previous learnings and experiences not recognised by other providers, and we have a Minister who said that VTG exemptions might apply but they are not being applied," he said.
Mr Northe said he and local students are extremely upset by these set of circumstances and feel a lack of care and effort from the State Government and relevant authorities.
"It is not good enough that the State Government continues to neglect local students following the closures, and the Government must step in urgently to provide support and resolve these issues for the students impacted," Mr Northe said.
Media contact: 5133 9088
Office of Russell Northe MLA
Member for Morwell
Shadow Minister for Consumer Affairs
Shadow Minister for Liquor and Gaming Regulation
Russell Northe MLA
Source: www.gippsland.com Published by: news@gippsland.com
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