The Federal Minister for Education, Science and Training, Julie Bishop,
visited The University of New England to launch the results and
recommendations of the largest education survey concerning rural and
regional issues ever carried out in Australia.

Conducted in 2005 by the National Centre of Science, ICT and Mathematics
Education for Rural and Regional Australia (SiMERR), based at UNE, the
survey elicited responses from about 3,000 primary and maths/science
secondary teachers - and nearly 1,000 parents - in 1,400 schools across all
States and Territories. It found that rural and regional schools had a
higher annual staff turnover than city schools, fewer opportunities for
their teachers' professional development, and a greater unmet need of
resources and support. Country parents, while they appreciated the
commitment and enthusiasm of teachers, were concerned about whether their
children had adequate access to a good range of learning experiences and
opportunities such as excursions and visits by experts.

Minister Bishop referred to the survey as "ambitious" and the report as
"comprehensive and authoritative". "Its recommendations should be taken
seriously," she said, and suggested that "we should look at incentives:
rewarding teachers for working in challenging environments, and for their
outcomes".

The report's principal recommendation is the formation of a National Rural
School Education Strategy that would coordinate all government and
non-government education jurisdictions - and develop collaborative research
and support programs - to address these educational inequities. Referring to
this as a "serious recommendation", Minister Bishop said it was one that she
would "certainly take on board".

See the Executive Summary(front cover).