Appointment Brings Youth Voice To Curriculum Board

  • Minister for Education

The Andrews Labor Government has put the perspectives of young people at the heart of decision making about the VCE curriculum, with the appointment of a recent VCE graduate to the board of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA).

Minister for Education James Merlino today announced the appointment of Ms Aayushi Khillan to the VCAA Board. The Board is responsible for a range of tasks including approving VCE and VCAL curriculum, English text lists, exam timetables and study. Ms Khillan will represent the perspective of students as these decisions are made.

Ms Khillan completed the VCE last year at MacRobertson Girls’ High School in 2018 and is currently studying for a Bachelor of Biomedicine at the University of Melbourne.

Ms Khillan was a member of the Victorian Student Representative Council (VicSRC) Executive team in 2017-18. She won a Premier’s VCE Award for Psychology in 2019 and captained the school’s debating and public speaking team.

As a recent VCE graduate, she is aware of the issues facing students both at school and in their transition to further education and work. She brings this perspective to the Board through her involvement with youth in Victoria’s multicultural communities, tutoring disadvantaged students and interest in cyber safety, health and wellbeing.

The Labor Government has put student voice and the perspectives of young people at the heart of how schools are run. Since 2018, all Victorian government secondary schools (with students in Year 7 and above) are required to include two elected student members on their school councils, with full voting rights.

Two other important appointments have also been made to the Board, with Seir Holley and Catharine Hydon also joining as new VCAA board members.

Ms Hydon is a highly qualified early childhood professional with broad experience across a range of early childhood settings both in Australia and internationally. Ms Holley is Assistant Principal at Keilor Heights Primary School and has significant experience in government primary schools.

The VCAA board is comprised of 8 to 15 members appointed by Governor-in-Council following nomination by the Minister for Education.

As stated by Minister for Education James Merlino

“If we want to get the most out of our students we need to listen to them. Young people are in the best position to understand the pressures they experience and the opportunities they want.”

“I have long seen the value of student voice in our schools. This appointment of Aayushi Khillan to the VCAA Board shows that the views of students are central to the decisions we make about what is taught in our classrooms.”

As stated by VCAA Chair, Chris Wardlaw

“I welcome the three new appointees to the VCAA Board and look forward to working with them in the future.”

/Public Release. View in full here.