The $1 billion promise – or is it?

The Nationals pledge $1 billion to rural and regional education, but the reality might be a lot less. At the recent 90th anniversary federal conference of the National Party, its leader Warren Truss spoke the words that would warm the cockles of any cynical educationalist’s heart. “No matter where you live, you or your children should be able to access the best possible education,” Truss told the gathered faithful. And putting his money where his mouth was, Truss announced that if elected the Coalition government would establish a $1 billion regional education fund. Noting that students from rural and regional areas are less likely to finish Year 12 than their metropolitan counterparts, and are significantly under-represented in tertiary education, Truss said the $1 billion would be used to “bridge the education gap and to address the issues which lead to education under-achievement in the regions”. More specifically, the money would be used to invest in technology for e-learning and programs to encourage quality teachers to move to - and stay in - regional and remote schools. He said it would be used to build infrastructure in regional universities and so those universities could “offer innovative educational opportunities for country students”. It would also provide “extra material support for students who need to move to obtain their higher education”. He said the money would be “above and beyond” existing funding for regional and rural education. Truss also said the Coalition would appoint a parliamentary secretary for regional education and establish a dedicated regional education unit in the federal education department. The policy showed that while the Nationals might not be rethinking the design and delivery of higher education in the bush, at least they were prepared to pour some real money into it. “The thrust is important of this announcement is important,” said Professor Sue Kilpatrick, pro vice-chancellor (rural and regional) at Deakin University. “A commitment to regional education is important, as is the recognition that it costs more both to provide education in the regions and also for students in regional and remote areas to access a greater choice of higher education.” But, the Truss announcement also carried a sting in the tail. Then education minister Julia Gillard harangued the Opposition last Tuesday when it came to light the $1 billion was in reality only the interest and earnings from $1 billion of the $3 billion remaining in the Education Investment Fund – more likely to be around $50 million. Gillard quoted NSW senator John Williams who had told a radio station: “... the plan is this. And it’s been ticked off by Tony Abbott and Joe Hockey, that we put the billion dollars invested, away, and what that billion dollars earns in interest, we then spend in regional Australia to improve education”. “So it is not $1 billion on regional education; it is $1 billion invested and the interest spent on regional education,” Gillard said. However, Gillard herself had been forced to defend the government’s record on rural and regional education following an editorial by historian Ross Fitzgerald that recent appeared in The Australian. “[Gillard] is yet to give local universities the support that links education, employment and workplace change in order to meet the twin challenges of access and diversity that are at the core of our rapidly evolving regions,” Fitzgerald wrote. “The recent federal budget largely ignored higher education and, in so doing, missed the chance to revitalise and reposition regional universities as key engines for change.” In a response, two weeks later, Gillard focused on changes to income support and argued that equity funding measures would deliver additional resources to rural and regional universities. She also said a review of regional loading, chaired by Professor Richard Larkins and which has been underway since earlier this year, would “design a more transparent and logical system”. The final report is due at the end of the year. Fitzgerald later told CR that the review of regional loading was insufficient and there needed to be a “complete rethink of higher education in rural and regional areas”. “Its ridiculous that regional universities have tiny campuses dotted through out the major capital cities. There needs to be a rethink to understand just how important mining is to the Australian economy and how students in the regions don’t get sucked out and not come back again,” “The way to do that is to set up a series of extremely well-funded universities that are dual purpose that draw TAFE and university sectors together. “The current system is an abject failure.” Professor Sandra Harding who is member of the reference group providing advice to the department on the regional loading report disagreed, saying she believed regional education was important to this government, which is why they were undertaking the report. But Harding did express concern that the terms of reference of the report excluded research and community engagement. “There is a real challenge in that what we are doing looking at this is without research and innovation. We can go so far looking at the provision of teaching and learning in Australia. But we can’t look at it properly until we look at the research angle as well,” Harding said. “It almost makes the assumption that teaching and learning is all that happens in regional provision – and that is certainly not the case.” Kirkpatrick said she is hopeful the new model for calculating regional loading will more truly reflect the true cost of delivery. “Deakin subsidises its Warrnambool campus to the tune of $10 million a year - and we get a total of $600,000 for our three regional campuses. “I’d also like to see appropriate levels of support for those young people who do have to move away from home. Estimates of $20,000 a year to send a young person to live in the city – that’s not just an after tax cost for the family, but $20,000 not being spent in that regional community. “It’s also about raising aspirations. Having a regional campus can raise regional aspiration and then its about all those harder to measure social and cultural benefits. We have staff on a whole raft of regional bodies. These are benefits that are not captured by the way things are funded at the moment.”