Access to education for rural students

Students in rural Victoria make up 30 per cent of the student population. In rural Victoria levels of disadvantage are higher and educational aspirations and outcomes are lower than for metropolitan areas. This creates unique and complex challenges for government agencies.

This audit assessed the effectiveness of the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development's (DEECD) activities to ensure that Victorians in rural and regional areas have access to a high-quality education and that outcomes for these students are maximised. The audit found that DEECD has not provided access to high-quality education for all students.

Rural students perform consistently below their metropolitan peers on a range of measures. While the gaps in performance are not always large, they have changed little over time and show no signs of improving.