Coronavirus crisis shows need for more resilience in remote education system, says Batchelor Institute CEO

THE Batchelor Institute is calling for more to be done to improve education delivery in remote communities, after the coronavirus crisis up-ended its entire operations.

The Batchelor Institute is calling for more to be done to improve education delivery in remote communities, after the coronavirus crisis up-ended its entire operations. Picture: Justin Kennedy

THE Batchelor Institute is calling for more to be done to improve education delivery in remote communities, after the coronavirus crisis up-ended its entire operations.

Batchelor Institute CEO Steve Larkin said hundreds of students were left with minimal or no access to education after the Institute stopped face-to-face teaching, workshops and student and staff travel to protect remote communities against the pandemic.

He said Vocational Education and Training students suffered the most, with 54 per cent in remote communities and 46 per cent in rural areas.

“There are a number of areas, and not just with Aboriginal people, that are very vulnerable to not being able to access the full quality and range of education services,” he said.

“COVID-19 really brings it into focus that we need to be thinking about what systems we need in place to be able to offset those obstacles and be able to ensure all Australians living in regional or remote area are still able to have an education.

“The current situation makes explicit just how fragile some of these education delivery mechanisms are.”

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Prof Larkin said the Institute was exploring how to improve its delivery while continuing to educate.

“To me this emphasises the precarious nature, or what can become precarious, is the delivery of education in remote communities,” he said.

A Federal Department of Education, Skills and Employment spokeswoman said Canberra was working to combat the coronavirus crisis’ impact on tertiary education and in particular VET.

“State and territory governments, including the Northern Territory Government, are working directly with public funded providers to support transition to online and distance learning modes,” she said.

“At a national level, the Australian Government is working closely with states and territories under the COAG Skills Council to preserve core capability in Australia’s VET system to deliver critical skills.”

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The NT Department of Trade, Business and Innovation said it continued to work with providers to improve training and employment outcomes in remote communities.