“That ICPA (Aust) lobbies the Federal Government for a Geographically Isolated Education Supervisors Subsidy (GIESS) for all families that have to school their children in distance education settings due to residing in remote and geographically isolated locations.”
For Years ICPA has lobbied the State and Federal Government for Distance Education Teaching Allowance however it is obvious that the government does not see home tutors as teachers. However as part of our obligation with School of the Air (SOTA) and distance education centres, at least one adult must be present in the classroom with our children while they are learning online and deliver half of the student’s curriculum and in some cases all the curriculum issued to our students.
The home tutor must be present to commit six to eight hours a day in addition to the necessary preparation time. This role requires dedication and commitment and can be seven years per student.
The home tutor must be capable and confident in delivering the distance education program so that their students can achieve educational parity with their peers in face-to-face schools who have daily access to professionally trained teachers and support staff.
Distance education delivery is impossible without home tutors responsible for the face-to-face delivery of educational support, supervision, and evaluation of their students.
While distance education tutors spend about the same time as teachers in a face-to-face school preparing daily lessons, teaching, and supervising their students, they receive no remuneration for their work.
For geographically isolated families, the role of home tutor usually falls on the mother. This means they are unable to fully participate, or must juggle, other day-to-day work, either in the family business, on the property on which the family lives or elsewhere, often foregoing their own careers and earning capability to teach their child/ren enrolled in distance education.
Families that choose to employ a tutor or governess do so at a considerable cost and finding a suitable governess/tutor is often difficult in isolated areas.
In recent years the roles women assume in the operation of family businesses in rural and remote areas have changed, so performing the position of home tutor multiplies their workload. This adds pressure on other family members and may require the employment of additional staff.
The vital and compulsory role of the home tutor should be remunerated through an allowance, one which recognises the essential work are required to perform. While the Assistance for Isolated Children (AIC) Distance Education (DE) Allowance helps geographically isolated distance education families with some of the incidental expenses of educating their children, this does not include covering the cost of someone to teach the children in the home classroom.
Under the AIC Guidelines, the AIC DE Allowance was not established to cover costs for providing a tutor in the distance education home classroom. The table below shows the average financial loss and implications of a mother or other family member undertaking the distance education home tutor role.
