A new report into the impacts of drought on young people’s access to education in rural and remote Australia has prompted an urgent call for a review of financial support to overcome the tyranny of distance at all levels of education.

 

Research conducted by Charles Sturt University (CSU) academics Professor Margaret Alston and Dr Jenny Kent concluded drought has had significant impacts on access to all levels of schooling from primary to secondary through to  tertiary education.

 

The report, The impact of drought on secondary education access in Australia's rural and remote areas, was funded by the Federal Government and the Rural Education Program of the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal, which identified the need for research into the circumstances of children being educated in rural and remote areas.

 

“We couldn’t fail to be impressed by the resilience, courage and wisdom of the young people during times of extraordinary crisis,“ said the CSU researchers.

 

“The children were more likely to be working long hours outside school in either paid work or farm work, they were privy to stresses on their families during drought, had experienced loss of friends from school, and often studied by distance and faced uncertainties in their future.”

 

To capture the “lived experience” of the young people, the CSU researchers conducted in-depth investigations in 2005 with students, their families, teachers as well as business, community and government representatives in seven rural and remote sites at Balranald, Cootamundra and Hay in NSW, Blackall and Longreach in Queensland and Cohuna and Kerang in Victoria.

 

The research identified a number of key findings to ensure equality in educational access for young people in rural and urban Australia;

• Increase Assisted Isolated Children (AIC) allowances to $8 000 for students at primary through to tertiary level to help families overcome the financial burden of education  
• Students who must leave home for tertiary education should automatically be eligible for the Youth Allowance
• Address pressures on mothers in remote areas to deliver quality education through home tutoring at the same time as they work on and off farms.