Stolen dreams

By Emma Sun
SHOCKED students were left fearing they would fail their course after heartless thieves stole $26,000 worth of their school equipment.
Sixteen Macbook Pro laptops holding the students’ work and four Canon cameras were taken during the raid on The Dove.
The students were taking part in VCAL training as part of the Local Employment Education Program (LEEP) at the Doveton Neighbourhood Learning Centre, which helps students who have become disengaging from mainstream education.
Doveton LEEP co-ordinator and teacher Stuart Ireland said the raid has upset students because they had lost six months of course work stored on the computers.
“They were upset and worried that they were going to fail which, of course, wasn’t going to happen, and they mainly felt upset because they lost their work, which was quite substantial,” Mr Ireland said. “All of our students here are committed to going back into education so it’s not just about the items taken but the repercussions it’s had on their students – they’ve lost a lot of hard work and effort which is really unmotivating on some kids.”
LEEP manager Gabriella Warfe said the 8 June theft was a huge loss to both the program and to the students.
“We are deeply disappointed because the loss of equipment impacts on the education of the students because they don’t have access to the tools they had before,” Ms Warfe said.
“That was all we had for all 34 of our students, so for a program like ours that is doing such a fantastic thing for the community by offering these young people with alternative option, it’s a big loss.”
LEEP is a VCAL program run by Westall Secondary College and aims to give teenagers aged between 15 and 19 years a second chance in getting education.
The program offers students practical learning experiences, work placements and gives them a chance to do work for the community.
While a lot of time is spent outside of the classroom, I.T. is considered to be a big part of the program and access to computers and the internet was a crucial component of their studies.
The Macbook Pros were bought by the secondary college using government funds to ensure all students have access to computers.
Ms Warfe said staff are in the process of redeveloping the curriculum so the students can learn and work without the technology.
“VCAL is really about hands-on learning,” she said. “We will redesign curriculum so that isn’t dependant on laptops and make it much more interactive and much more experiential.”
For more information about LEEP, visit www.leep.org.au.
Anyone with any information is asked to contact Senior Detective Joshua Morgan at Narre Warren Police Station on 9705 3111.