MELBOURNE, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- Students may have to meet literacy and numeracy standards before they can receive their Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) under a plan revealed to be under consideration by the state government in Australia on Wednesday.

The Victorian government has asked the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) to investigate what would be the biggest change to the VCE system in decades.

Under the current system, students need to only receive a pass mark on their final secondary school exams in order to be granted their VCE.

The call for changes to the VCE system is being led by the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), which expressed concern over the poor skills of secondary school graduates.

"With minimum standards in place, business and employers would be assured that young employees with this qualification have achieved a consistent level of competency in literacy and numeracy skills," VCCI chief executive officer (CEO) Mark Stone told Australian media on Wednesday.

National Assessment Program -- Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) results released on Wednesday, showed that literacy and numeracy skills among Australian students had stagnated for the fourth consecutive year.

Students in the states of New South Wales (NSW) and Western Australia (WA) are already required to meet minimum requirements in literacy and numeracy before they can receive the state's VCE equivalent.

Robert Randall, chief of the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), said he believed the minimum standards should be a part of high school certificates, but it was up to the states to establish the minimum level required.

"Discussions are going on with each of the relevant authorities about the importance of literacy and numeracy standards," Randall said.

"They are observing what WA and NSW have done and wondering whether they would do the same thing or adopt a different approach ... we should set expectations and standards and we should work with young people to achieve them."