“That ICPA Qld continues to lobby State Government departments for the introduction of a ‘Distance Education Teaching Allowance’, paid to families enrolled in a School of Distance Education and where Distance Education is the only option due to geographical isolation.”
Students enrolled in a School of Distance Education due to geographical isolation, currently receive between 6 and 15 hours per week of online lessons with their school-based teacher, quite a vast difference to those students who attend a main-stream school and receive a minimum of 25 hours per week of face-to-face lessons with their teacher.
Students in Schools of Distance Education require the guidance from a home tutor or a governess to adequately support them in their home learning environment, to participate in online lessons and enhance the delivery of curriculum lessons that are not delivered directly by their online teacher.
In most cases, families must employ a governess at their own expense (an estimated cost of $70,500/pa), or one parent/guardian must relinquish a contributory financial position to take on the role as home tutor to supervise and teach their children. A DETA (Distance Education Teaching Allowance) needs to be introduced to help support families with the employment of a governess or home tutor, who plays a vital role in the supervision of students in isolated classrooms and the delivery of curriculum that is not being specifically taught by their school-based teacher.
