Has urban Australia encountered the notion that there are parents whose children do not have daily access to appropriate schooling? Students living in rural and remote areas of Australia who do not live within reasonable distance to attend a school must live away from home to study. Many students enrol in Schools of Distance Education or small primary schools during their primary or early secondary years. For some students in some locations, even this will not be in the best interests of the student. In later years, parents rely on non state boarding schools to meet this need, as the State school system does not cater for the residential requirements of all these students. The SES formula and the Student Needs component do distribute funds recognizing these students’ needs but, as stated in the article, there is not a differential fee structure for geographically isolated students. Non state schools with boarding facilities maintain that the funding does not adequately meet the costs of residential facilities and pastoral care.



Let’s take this debate out of the school system arena, whether state or non state, and focus on educational success stories for all students. Rural and remote parents spend a lot of their income on education because it isn’t just about fees but the cost of access relating to distance and limited choices. Given the significant underachievement of rural and remote students in national testing scores, these students must be given every opportunity to succeed. Increased transparent financial assistance is imperative