Victoria was the first state in Australia to formally introduce Punjabi to the school curriculum through Victorian School of Languages in 2001.
Back in 2005, it also became the first Australian state to introduce Punjabi as a Language Other than English (LOTE) subject in the Year 12 VCE level.
One of the current coordinators of Punjabi learning at VSL, Harmeet Singh Sidhu says the number of enrolments has had an extraordinary growth across all grades since the first class in 2001.
“This is largely due to the huge growth in the Punjabi community in Victoria, as revealed by the 2016 Census. But the credit also credit goes to the students who are enthusiastic about learning their mother tongue, and their parents, who have enrolled the students at various centres across Victoria.”
There are currently 12 centres in the state where students can learn Punjabi, including four centres in regional Victoria.
Source: Supplied
The centres within Melbourne city and its suburbs include Blackburn, Craigieburn, Caroline Springs, Hampton, Melton, Taylors Lakes, Thomastown and Truganina, with the regional centres being Ballarat, Geelong, Shepparton and Wodonga.
“Hampton Park is by far our largest centre”, says Mr Sidhu about the centre located in Melbourne’s south-east.
“We have 17 different classes running there, with 26 students in each of them.”
“The Craigieburn centre, where I teach, only started a few years ago, but has a large number of enrolments. In addition to that, there are many students in the waiting list, which has also been growing continuously,” he says.
“The centre at Thomastown runs 13 different classes. Even the centre in Truganina, which is the newest one opened by VSL for Punjabi classes, is running 12 full classes already,” he adds.
Speaking about the advantages of taking up Punjabi as a subject in Year 12 (VCE), Mr Sidhu says, “ It has a very positive impact on the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank that the students receive at the end of the year.”
VSL Area Manager (Area Northwest) Mr Sadik Cagdas informing Punjabi parents about benefits of LOTE at VCE level Source: Supplied
“LOTE languages scale up, which can increase the ATAR score. Additionally, some universities also give additional consideration for students who take up Punjabi (or any other LOTE) in Year 12,” he says.
“I encourage all students to consider this as a preferred option – not only will you stay connected to your roots and to your culture, but it can also prove very beneficial for you in achieving a better ATAR score.”
Mr Sidhu says Victorian School of Languages is now taking enrolments for the year 2020 school year. Anyone with a query should call 03 9474 0500.
Annual cultural performance by VSL students learning Punjabi Source: Supplied
To hear our full interview with Mr Sidhu, click on the audio link above.
