Its census day and performance arts students aren’t happy

So unhappy with on-line learning, that a meeting of students at the Victorian College of the Arts and the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music demanded “fee relief.”

“Nobody is blaming the VCA and MCM for a global pandemic but they have decided to continue with classes on-line. They need to take responsibility and acknowledge that learning how to dance, act, and play in music ensembles is diminished in on-line environments,” the VCA student association says.

That the chance of a fee cut is somewhere between buckleys and none does not diminish the students’ point; “nobody should expect 18 and 19-year old students to take on debts when they are learning how to dance in their bedrooms or trying to play in orchestras via Zoom.”

The university’s response will not encourage them; dean of fine arts and music Barry Conyngham sets out how staff are adapting teaching and deferring what will not work for COVID-19 quarantined students but adds, “our focus continues to be on delivering relevant, creative learning that enables students to continue a meaningful, coordinated arts education in the meantime.”

The reviews on “meaningful” arts education await results in this census and next.