Why The Gap is Widening Between Country And City Schools

There is an article on SMH Government warned of widening gap between country and city schools a few weeks back. The basic rundown of the article comes down to the following extract.

Students in regional and remote parts of Australia are up to two years behind their metropolitan peers in NAPLAN English and PISA maths tests, and this gap is likely to widen in coming years if major funding and structural issues are not addressed, according to the Australian Education Union.

While what is happening is true, it does not truly address the reason why this is happening. Funding is just one part of what cause this and helps address the issue. When drilling to the core, it is the social economic status of the student family attending the city schools that fundamentally resulting in this divide. As long as the brain and youth drain from the country to the city keeps happening, this trend will not be reversed at best arrested by additional funding.

Country living has a lot to offer, lower housing price for one, less time spent on the commute, more in touch with nature, etc etc. However when getting to the most important thing, can you and your partner find and keep jobs with similar paying potential as in the cities. I think the answer is simple for the vast majority it is not possible. Couple with the proximity to transport, entertainment and other leisure activities, most of educated and affluent will choose city over country easily in today’s environment.

This is why until we have a major change in how we work and commute, what fundamentally result in this divide is unlikely to go away anytime soon.

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