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Funding uncertainty worries teachers

The teachers' union says schools still do not know how much funding they will get for vocational education and training programs next year.

State School Teachers Union president Pat Byrne said teachers and principals who attended the union's bi-annual council at the weekend were frustrated by the lack of funding certainty, just five weeks before the end of the school year.

Changes to the WA Certificate of Education mean that students who are not university-bound will be expected to leave school with the minimum qualification of a vocational Certificate II.

Ms Byrne said more than 30,000 students were expected to choose vocational courses next year and it was unfair that principals and school staff still had no idea how much money they would have to pay for them.

"Principals are being told to plan their budgets using current estimated figures but they are not sure when and how much they will be given," she said.

Ms Byrne said schools' budget planning should have started months ago.

"Now we're being told that schools will have to wait until the mid-year economic review in December to know what funds they will be given," she said.

Education Minister Peter Collier said VET funding levels would be confirmed soon and schools would get an increase. "The WACE reforms are about making sure every student leaves school with a meaningful qualification," he said.