The Member for Northern Tablelands Richard Torbay has welcomed steps being taken by the NSW Minister for Education to address the education divide between rural and urban students.
Figures released by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reveal that children in rural and remote Australia are, on average, 18 months behind their city counterparts, Mr Torbay said.
“I applaud the work of the Minister for Education, the Hon Adrian Piccoli, to create a new Standing Council on School Education and Early Childhood to address this damning statistic,” Mr Torbay said.
“I have a long-term interest in education and as an MP and the Chancellor of the UNE I am impressed by his quick action to address this gap among our young people.
“The Minister has successfully negotiated an agreement between State, Territory and Commonwealth Education Ministers to make this a key priority of the new committee.
“It is encouraging that a Minister from such a strong rural background as Mr Piccoli has acted so decisively with a genuine approach to a very tough issue.”
The OECD’s Program for International Student Assessment revealed that Australian students rank ninth in reading, while Australia’s remote students rank 40th.
Tests show that one-in-20 Year 3 city-based students are below the minimum reading standard, in remote areas it is one-in-seven and in very remote areas is almost every second student is below the minimum standard.
“Key areas to be addressed should include increasing retention rates for students in rural areas through flexible options, initiatives to attract and retain teachers to remote areas and funding considerations,” Mr Torbay said.
Rain increased restockers and replacements
Agents and vendors combined to present a very handy drawing of stock for the weekly sale, there was a bigger attendance as the rain...
