Education: the litmus of rural well-being

The author was the Australian Human Rights Commissioner at the time of the Commission's National Inquiry into Rural and Remote Education, August 2000. In this paper he outlines the submissions made to the Inquiry and summarises its recommendations, which were aimed at 'enhancing the availability, accessibility, affordability acceptability and adaptability of school education for all children in rural and remote Australia'. The recommendations stated that a national rural education plan should assure adequate funding for rural and remote schools; and that this funding should be used to achieve a 'child-focus' in school education, placing new emphasis on the individual development of each child.