State schools to begin rejecting students from outside their area

Victorian state schools with large numbers of students from outside their area will soon start rejecting families who do not live locally.

New Education Department rules state that from next year schools with more than fifty per cent of students from outside their area will not be entitled to extra portable classrooms.

Approximately 15 per cent of schools are expected to be affected by the changes.

The new policy is a marked shift from the previous approach, which advocated for families’ right to choose to send their children to the school of their choice.

Anne-Maree Kliman, President of the Victorian Principals Association, said that the new policy is the result of years of under-spending on school infrastructure.

“We didn’t have enough money spent on providing, upgrading and building new schools, so now there is a bit of a rush to be able to have enough facilities to accommodate the number of students coming into the system in the next few years,” she said.

Ms Kliman also said policies relating to student placement have not been clearly communicated.

“There’s inconsistent implementation of the policy, and now, of course, we’ve got this other policy coming in over the top of it,” she said.

Press PLAY below to hear Anne-Marie Kliman speaking with Ross and John.