Travelling bush tutors and rewards for student effort could help close the $50 billion education gap between urban and regional areas, a new report has found.
The report, led by UNSW economics professor Richard Holden, found Australia would add up to $53 billion to its annual GDP if it invested in the education of kids in rural and regional areas.
The Economic Impact of Improving Regional, Rural and Remote Education in Australia, the first research to be released by the Gonski Institute for Education, said there would be a big return on modest investment in regional schooling.
"Compared to some proposals for regional development, the education gap is particularly large and offers a high return on investment," the report said. "[In comparison], proposals such as the recent 'inland rail project' may not even cover their costs."
Dr Holden used NAPLAN scores to measure the gap between urban and non-urban students. He then used comparable US data to calculate the resulting earnings gap, which added up to 3.3 per cent of GDP.
The head of the Gonski Institute, former National Party MP and education minister Adrian Piccoli, said the report was commissioned because it was difficult to get governments interested in regional and remote education.
"It's difficult to get decision-makers to understand the economic consequences of having this gap," he said.
"But actually, when you put a number on it, and then at the same time people talk all the time about regional development ... here is the great regional development opportunity."
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