CORONAVIRUS — SCHOOLS — REMOTE
LEARNING
376. Hon COLIN de GRUSSA to the Minister for Education and
Training:
I refer to the ongoing impacts of
COVID-19 and the move to provide access to education through remote learning
and distance education.
(1) For those not
attending a school, to what extent is continued access to education reliant on
connectivity to the internet and appropriate electronic devices to access the
internet?
(2) Can the
minister confirm that students in low economic circumstances will have equity
of access and an equivalent standard of education in the event that they do not
have access to the internet or an appropriate electronic device if they are not
attending a school?
Hon SUE
ELLERY replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question. This question was lodged yesterday before I made
the announcement that I made today so I will give the answer that I prepared
yesterday and will add to it.
(1) Continued
access to education is not reliant on connectivity to the internet or
appropriate electronic devices.
(2) I continue to work from the premise that no
student will be disadvantaged. Students who are not physically present
at school are provided either online learning opportunities and/or physical
work packages that have been prepared by
schools. Electronic or online teaching and learning formats are not necessarily
of a superior standard to pen-and-paper packs; however, the Department
of Education is working on support for those students who need access to a device
as well as the development of guidelines based on ensuring equity for the
lending and availability of devices. There are 153 000 devices and 5 000
dongles or SIM cards available.
I
will add to that. In addition, students in regional Western Australia, for
example, who live in areas where there might not be internet access, the
School of Isolated and Distance Education, which already provides a great
service, will work intensively with those students. We are making sure that
where there is internet access but there is a problem with devices, we will
lend families devices. Where internet access is available, but the family
cannot afford or for some other reason is not
able to provide that, our partners at Telstra have assisted us with 5 000
dongles and SIM cards. But in term 2, in the classroom, it will be a combination
of hard copy packages with regular feedback and contact with teachers and
online learning where that is possible.