Community
13 March, 2024
Rohan to move on
AFTER more than a decade as Cobden Technical School’s principal, Rohan Keert has announced he will be moving on from the school.
He said he had been appointed as director to lead the new Warrnambool Tech School.
Mr Keert said he would take up the new role from mid Term 2.
“I have always said it is a privilege to lead a school that belongs to the local community, to be the responsible custodian until the next leader takes over,” he said.
“I will miss the everyday interactions with students, staff, volunteers, parents and the Cobden community.”
Mr Keert said there had been a number of highlights over the past 10 years which made him proud to belong to the Cobden Tech community.
“These include, the establishment of the Corangamite Trade Training Cluster, the 50th Anniversary celebrations, and the way our school adapted to the relocation to Camperdown College during the St Patrick’s Day fires,” he said.
“However, it is the small, everyday interactions with students that I will miss the most.
“Like the Year 7 boys at the CTS Athletics carnival this week that said to me, “We love Cobden Tech. It’s way better than primary school. We get to do so many things”.
The Department of Education will conduct an expression of interest process to appoint an acting principal for the remainder of 2024.
Mr Keert said the process to recruit the next ongoing Cobden Technical School Principal will occur in the second half of the year.
“It is anticipated that my replacement will commence at the beginning of the 2025 school year,” he said.
As part of the new role, Mr Keert will be tasked with establishing and leading a new Tech School in Warrnambool.
He said it would be a hi-tech STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) centre of excellence.
“Warrnambool Tech School will be housed within the South West TAFE campus site and engage secondary students from government and non-government schools across the three local government areas of Corangamite, Moyne and Warrnambool in single or multi-day programs linked to the curriculum at their home school,” Mr Keert said.
“All programs and bus transport will be provided entirely free of charge for school and students.
“The new centre will connect schools and industry in contemporary learning programs that challenge students to solve problems in a real-world context – bridging the gap between emerging industries and future innovators.”
The Warrnambool Tech School is anticipated to be opened and operating by Term 3, 2026.