BALLARAT Secondary College is currently looking to axe some programs so it can save enough money to continue to offer a robust vocational program, principal Paul Rose has said.Public schools in Ballarat stand to lose close to $300,000 in annual funding after a state government decision to cut $12 million from the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL).The vocational program is aimed at reducing student drop-outs.“Unfortunately we are in a position at the moment of looking at which program we have to close down so that we can ensure VCAL can continue with appropriate levels of co-ordination,” Mr Rose said.“We haven’t made that decision (about which program); we are looking at student numbers. But it will be some smaller classes that normally we would have been able to run.”Mr Rose is the only Ballarat principal among a hundred others across Victoria who have signed an open letter to the Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu urging him to reconsider the cuts. Earlier Mr Rose told The Courier the number of students enrolled to the course had doubled in the last three years. “The Premier said that any principal who had concerns should raise the matter with him,” Mr Rose said. “Well, I was happy to raise the matter with him through the open letter because it is a very big concern for our college. I spoke up for the kids.”Mr Rose said government direction did seem to be making further education much more difficult for those students who were not aiming to go to university.Australian Education Union Victorian branch president Mary Bluett said other schools in Ballarat also backed calls to have the funding reinstated.“All of the secondary schools in and around Ballarat have been affected by the VCAL cuts and all want the state government to restore the funding for their students,” she said. Ms Bluett said the government had announced a $571 million surplus and was in a position to afford the $12 million per year needed to ensure VCAL’s continued delivery. However, a spokesman for the Minister for Higher Education and Skills Peter Hall, said the changes would not be reversed.