FINALLY!

An expert panel has been appointed by the Andrews government to investigate why rural and regional students are lagging behind their city peers.

The announcement follows an investigation by The Age last week that revealed more than half of all regional and rural schools have recorded a slump in their VCE results over the past decade.An expert panel will make recommendations to the state government on how to bridge the divide between country and city students.

Victorian Education Minister James Merlino said while the achievement gap between rural and city students was a national problem, he wanted to take a lead in addressing the issue.

“We are already doing a lot to boost results in regional and rural Victoria, but we now need to look at what more we can do and that is why this panel is so important,” he said.

The expert advisory panel, which will be chaired by Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority chief executive David Howes, will make recommendations to the government on how to bridge the divide between country and city students.

It will include principals and regional education experts and run consultations in Ballarat, Bendigo, Horsham, Mildura, Morwell, Wangaratta and Warrnambool throughout July and August.

If it's determined by Regional Office and it probably will be then I probably won't get an invite but that doesn't matter so long as they have a good cross section and that they actually LISTEN and LEARN!