Fatima Halloum
Residents in Wyndham are calling for more secondary schools in the area, to keep up with growing population demands.
At present, there are nine secondary schools in Wyndham and 31 primary schools and 16 combined schools.
“My children go to secondary school and there are over 1500 students,” Hoppers Crossing resident Mel Howell said.
“It’s poor planning, schools are bursting at the seams.”
Ms Howell said the community would benefit from additional schools as the needs of the student population aren’t being met.
“Yes, we need the schools but they keep building primary schools and don’t think about what happens,” Ms Howell said.
“Primary school children grow up, where do they go?”
Ms Howell believes it would take action from the community to intigate real change.
“We need to come together, we should be at council meetings and go down to Parliament and that much passion and commitment,” she said.
Wyndham mayor Peter Maynard says the city welcomes any additional funding for new or existing schools to help cater for the growing population.
“The City of Wyndham has the highest number of government school enrolments per government school in the whole of Victoria. To meet this demand it is critical that we take action now,” Cr Maynard said.
“Children in Wyndham have the same right to access education, and yet children in Wyndham’s growth areas have access to around half the number of primary and secondary schools compared to Greater Melbourne.”
Without support from the government, Cr Maynard says it’s possible Wyndham won’t be able to keep up with school demands.
“By 2041, there will be a shortfall of 16 school sites. We urgently need to address this shortfall. Council will work proactively with all stakeholders to plan and build new schools and achieve a positive outcome for Wyndham children,” he said.
Tarneit MP Sarah Connolly said there is no doubt Wyndham needs more schools to cater for the growing population.
She said the state government had invested over $780 million into schools in Wyndham, with nine schools, including secondary schools in Truganina and Tarneit. planned to open in the next few years
“Out of the 100 schools being delivered by the Andrews government over eight years, Wyndham has so far received 16 of these schools, which is more than any other Local Government Area in Victoria,” she said.
