Victoria needs 50 new public schools by 2021 to cope with population growth: report

VICTORIA needs 50 new public schools over the next five years to cope with growing demand, a new report has found.

VICTORIA needs 50 new public schools over the next five years to cope with growing demand, a new report has found.

The state’s school-aged population is predicted to explode with an extra 90,000 students over the next six years.

The Education Department claims 50 new public schools would need to be built by 2021, an Auditor-General’s report on school infrastructure has revealed.

The department predicted in 2013 that an extra 50,000 students would be squeezed into the school system by 2021.

But the latest enrolment projections paint a more dire picture.

Cate Hall, from Our Children Our Schools, said new schools needed to target areas with bulging enrolments.

Victoria will need 50 more schools by 2021. Picture: iStock.

“It’s pretty well understood that student numbers are growing exponentially,” she said.

“That is why it’s so important that our school planning is sound and needs-based. We need to know that the schools are going where they are needed.”

The report, released yesterday, also warned that schools were postponing much-needed maintenance due to a lack of funding.

“School maintenance continues to be underfunded and is at levels below industry standards,” the report said.

“As a result, schools will continue to postpone much-needed repairs and struggle to maintain their assets effectively.”

Education Minister James Merlino said there were 46 schools in the “pipeline” after 10 others were opened earlier this year.

“The Victorian Auditor-General’s Office’s audit acknowledged the Department provides robust advice to the government on the need for new schools based on demand and managing peak enrolments,” he said.

“We are now working on further strengthening our modelling to ensure investment in our schools goes where it is needed most.”

The department has accepted all seven of the Auditor-General’s recommendations, including that it use new schools to track the accuracy of its projections.

@moniquehore