A win for Victorian school students and parents

Minister for Education Dan Tehan has welcomed today’s announcement that Victorian school students will begin returning to the classroom from May 26. 

“Today’s announcement is a win for Victorian students,” Mr Tehan said. 

“The evidence is clear that nearly half of Australian children and young people are at risk of adverse effects on their educational outcomes by being physically disconnected from school. 

“If online delivery were to continue, low SES, students with complex learning needs including students with disability, and Indigenous students would lose weeks of learning in numeracy and reading. 

“Today’s announcement that Victoria now has a plan to return to classroom teaching based on expert medical advice and with additional protocols in place to protect teachers is welcome news. 

"Our Government has taken a consistent position to follow the expert medical advice and the expert medical advice has been consistent that schools are safe for students and teachers with the right protocols in place. 

“Principle number one of the COVID-19 National Principles for School Education, endorsed by National Cabinet, is that education is best delivered by professional teachers to students in the classroom on a school campus. 

“Every Australian student now knows when they will be back at school, this is wonderful news because we don’t want the coronavirus to take a year of our children’s education.”