The Independent Review into Regional, Rural and Remote Education was commissioned by the federal government and the final report was handed to the Education Council at its meeting in Adelaide on April 13.

The report made several recommendations to improve education in regional, rural and remote locations, which would boost the education outcomes of those students and pupils.

One of 11 recommendations made in the report was to “expand the availability and accessibility of the VET sector.”

“The national statistics show there is a persistent relationship between location and educational outcomes when data for the various measures is aggregated,” report author John Halsey said.

Extension of VET includes work experience programs, VET courses, dual VET and university pathways and two-year associate degree programs.

“The national statistics also raise very important questions about innovative ways to increase VET and university qualification rates with courses and programs that enhance the capacities of graduates,” Dr Halsey said.

Education Minister Jeremy Rockliff said regional, rural and remote education activity was already happening at a high level in Tasmania.

“The vocational education and training sector is a vital part of the skills base of regional, rural and remote communities,” he said.

“We welcome the focus on enabling local communities to engage in learning, education and skills and development.”

The University of Tasmania was used as a case study in the report, which featured its associate degrees.

“Another option for improving post-school opportunities for RRR young people is diversifying the university pathway choices and reducing the length of time it takes...” Dr Halsey said.

The associate degree model developed at the University of Tasmania was described as a great flexible option.

“The University of Tasmania associate degree model provides a flexible mechanism to acquire new skills to begin a new career or for those seeking a pathway to a bachelor degree. The associate degrees take a shorter time frame for completion with a duration of two years (full time) with the option to leave after one year with a diploma,” the report read.

Associate degrees at UTAS are offered via blended delivery model including online, face-to-face learning, and a workshop component or industry location for students to contribute to other undergraduate or postgraduate study.

“The associate degree model is also very supportive of students and there are no exams in their first year to help students transition and reduce pressure students may feel.”

In small communities where there are schools with less than 100 students, the report noted principals were teaching the equivalent of one day per week.

Principals’ Association’s Malcolm Elliott said this statistic was not uncommon and was happening in Tasmania.

“We have schools that are relatively small and in those schools it’s not uncommon to see principals teaching two to three days per week,” he said.

Mr Elliott said it was difficult to recruit teachers and relief teachers to really remote and rural areas.

“But we need to encourage some of our quality staff out there because every student is important,” he said.

He said the principal’s role should be in classrooms guiding teachers, not teaching curriculum.

“But the big burden is that principals are tied up doing a lot of administrative work that keeps them out of classrooms,” he said.

Removing principals from teaching quotas was a good first step to addressing this issue, he said.

Urgent improvement to the “patchiness” of ICT in regional, rural and remote locations needs to addressed, according to the report.

Dr Halsey noted this to be the third priority for the government in the review.

"ICT is now, and will only grow to become more so, integral to education and lifelong learning," he said.

The report called for a dedicated ICT taskforce soley for RRR locations to "substantially improve access to and use of ICT."

Mr Rockliff said ICT was an important part of Tasmanian schools.

“The department’s eStrategy continues to support students, especially those in rural and regional areas to support their learning and provides dynamic, engaging learning environments,” he said.

Tasmanian students and pupils have provision of tablets in extension high schools and video conferencing equipment in each extension high school and college to further their access to curriculum and teacher expertise.