Birmo announces regional education review

Hugh* was born and reared in Morven, southwest Queensland. Population: 300. His family relocated to a slightly larger town, Charleville, when he began high school. From there, he went on to study engineering. Following this, he was employed by a mid-size mining company on a large pay packet.  For someone from rural Australia, however, he's unusual. Children from rural and remote areas "are more likely to have developmental vulnerabilities when they start school, such as lower language and cognitive skills. Their NAPLAN results are generally lower and they go on to be under-represented in higher education", said Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce.