The Allan Government must urgently commit to establishing an independent review into the error plagued VCE exams which have made an already difficult period only harder for Victorian students.
At least eight errors across four separate exams have been confirmed to date, in addition to the failure to reissue a Chinese language exam which was incorrectly handed to students ten days ago and reportedly had its contents published online.
When asked about the need for the need for an independent, impartial and external review of this years VCE exams, Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) CEO Mr Stephen Gneil on Tuesday stated “I think that’s a great idea…We don’t want to just look internally here, we do want some fresh eyes on this.”
Despite this statement, Minister for Education Ben Carroll has to date only requested an internal review be conducted by the Department of Education and the VCAA themselves.
Shadow Minister for Education, Jess Wilson, said: “It is unacceptable that the Minister is refusing to commission an independent review of a VCE exam period that has been riddled with mistakes, errors and mismanagement.
“Just days ago, students, school communities and families were led to believe an independent review of these errors would occur – now the government has backflipped in an effort to keep the truth hidden.
“Not only has confidence in our education system been undermined by the exam errors, a review conducted by the same people responsible for these mistakes will not get to the bottom or what went wrong, or fix the system for future years.
“Students who have been put through added stress at an already challenging time deserve better and Minister Carroll must ensure a truly independent review is conducted so that improvements can be made before the 2024 VCE exams period.”
