Remote education inquiry to hold roundtables on early childhood and barriers to education

The House Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training

will hold two roundtable public hearings via teleconference on Wednesday, 2 September 2020 as part of the committee’s inquiry into the education of students in remote and complex environments.

Chair, Mr Andrew Laming MP, said ‘the committee has received compelling evidence showing that students in regional, rural and remote communities experience a range of barriers to accessing quality and affordable early childhood education, schooling and further education.’

‘To further examine these issues, the committee is holding a series of roundtable public hearings, focussing this week on early childhood education, and barriers that students from regional, rural and remote communities experience across their education journey’, Mr Laming said.

Last Wednesday, 26 August 2020, the committee held two roundtable hearings focussing on schools and the university and VET sectors.

The topic of the first public hearing is early childhood education and will include representatives of Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care, Community Connections Solutions Australia, Goodstart Early Learning and Early Childhood Australia.

The topic of the second public hearing is barriers to education and will include representatives of Speech Pathology Australia, Children and Young People with Disability Australia, World Vision Australia and the Australian Human Rights Commission.

Public hearing details

Date: Wednesday, 2 September 2020

Topic: Early childhood education

Location: By teleconference

Time: 11.30am–12.30pm

Date: Wednesday, 2 September 2020

Topic: Barriers to education

Location: By teleconference

Time: 12.30pm–1.30pm

The hearings will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live.

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