A reduction in extracurricular activities and university exposure has prompted calls for Geelong students to get involved in an upcoming UN youth forum.
“As a result of COVID-19, students have less access to extracurriculars, university exposure and educational programs,” UN Youth Victoria director Rose Bourke said.
“This all has long-term impacts with regards to university applications and post-high school job opportunities.
“This has affected Victorian regional students significantly, who are already under-resourced and lack the wide-ranging opportunities presented to most metropolitan schools.”
A former Sacred Heart College Geelong student, Ms Bourke said educational extra-curricular activities in Geelong were not as extensive as in Melbourne.
“This can often serve as a disadvantage to Geelong students.”
UN Youth Victoria has created online versions of its various forums on topics such as US politics, free press and an upcoming forum on LGBTIQA+ issues, amid COVID-19.
The group also held its Voice public speaking competition online earlier this year, along with its Model UN this week.
But while the online formats had allowed the group to reach new regional areas, Geelong’s representation had decreased, Ms Bourke said.
“I think Geelong has suffered more in comparison. Because it’s a regional Victorian epicentre, we usually run events there in-person.”
For example, the group’s Voice public speaking competition had 10 Geelong participants, about a third of the city’s usual representation.
Ms Bourke encouraged Geelong students to get involved in UN Youth Victoria’s upcoming Global Affairs Forum on August 28.
The forum offers students the opportunity to interact with university representatives and ask questions regarding arts and humanities degrees.
The call comes as state government last week announced the introduction of a new wide-ranging “Consideration of Educational Disadvantage” reforms to calculate VCE scores amid COVID-19.
Under the reforms the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) will consider factors including a student’s expected achievement levels before the impact of coronavirus, school assessments completed prior to remote learning, the General Achievement Test and a range of statistical analyses to calculate final results.
Details on the Global Affairs Forum: Search UN Youth Victoria on Facebook or Instagram.
