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ViệtSpeak
Vietnamese is the most spoken language after English in Naarm Melbourne’s west, yet there are no Vietnamese bilingual programs in public primary schools.
For over 30 years, Footscray Primary School ran a successful Vietnamese bilingual program, educating thousands of students. Since the program closed in 2020, families have been left with no options. Meanwhile, bilingual programs in other languages continue to be established and funded.
Our community is ready to rebuild, with students, teachers and kindergartens already in place.
Sign this petition to help bring Vietnamese bilingual education back to the west.
To: The Hon Ben Carroll MP, Minister for Education
We call on the Victorian Government to support the re-establishment of a Vietnamese bilingual primary school program in Naarm Melbourne’s west.
For over 30 years, Footscray Primary School ran a successful Vietnamese bilingual program, providing generations of local children with access to public bilingual education. Its closure in 2020 removed the only Vietnamese bilingual primary pathway in the west – despite Vietnamese being the most spoken language after English in the region.
Today, around 46,000 people in Brimbank and Maribyrnong speak Vietnamese at home, including electorates Footscray and St Albans. Non-Vietnamese background learners, both at the former Footcray Primary School program and currently at Cherry Crescent Preschool (CCP) and Albanvale Community Kindergarten (ACK), have greatly benefited from learning Vietnamese as a second language. These include enhanced cognitive development and promoting social inclusion and diversity. Despite this, there are currently no Vietnamese bilingual programs in primary schools serving these communities.
This is not a radical nor an untested proposal. Over the past six years, we have worked tirelessly to rebuild a Vietnamese bilingual program from the ground up: we have supported CCP and ACK in establishing an early years bilingual program, developed bilingual teaching resources, and identified a potential pool of qualified teachers to deliver such a program. We have also been engaging with the Department of Education in good faith to explore options for a bilingual program. We are simply asking the government to re-establish a program that served Victorian students successfully for decades, and to ensure it receives the long-term support necessary for its sustainability.
With a State Election approaching, we urge the Minister to:
+ support the re-establishment of a Vietnamese bilingual primary program in Naarm Melbourne’s west
+ work with communities to identify a suitable host primary school
+ ensure the program is properly resourced and sustainable
Every year of delay means another group of children miss out.
Bring back Vietnamese bilingual primary education in Naarm Melbourne’s west.