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New national centre opens at UNE

July 19, 2004

john Anderson.jpgDeputy Prime Minister John Anderson will officially open the new National Centre of Science, Information and Communication Technology, and Mathematics Education for Rural and Regional Australia (SIMERR) at the University of New England on Thursday, July 22.
Over the past year, staff at the UNE have been working closely with The Nationals in refining a proposal for the centre and securing the appropriate funding.
In late June, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Regional Services John Anderson announced the proposal had gained funding of $4.95 million for the establishment of the centre through the Australian Government’s Regional Partnerships program.
Research work is already underway.

SIMERR is based in the Education building of UNE with Professor John Pegg taking up the position of the centre’s Director. Regional hubs will then be developed in each State and Territory.
Professor Pegg said the main aim of the centre is to improve the quality of regional and rural students’ learning.
“This can be done by encouraging and supporting the professional development of teachers in primary, secondary and tertiary education.”
“There are a myriad of problems which face rural and regional teachers that city teachers don’t have to worry about. Identifying these problems and developing solutions to address them is the main focus of this National centre.”
“The idea of the research to be undertaken by the centre is to thrash out where and what are the problems in teaching maths and science in rural schools. These are complicated issues – are teachers getting enough support, are they staying in communities long enough, are parents recognising that maths and science subjects are important in their children’s education?”
“Hopefully, by looking at these issues, we can develop some strategies which will ultimately result in improving the way our children are taught maths, science, and ICT subjects,” Professor Pegg said.
Professor Victor Minichiello, Dean of the Faculty of Education, Health and Professional Studies, indicated that this was an exciting initiative because it reflected the confidence of the government in supporting rural communities to find solutions to solve some of the challenges they experience.
The Nationals have supported this proposal from its conception, with Senator Sandy Macdonald and Nationals New England Candidate Trevor Khan setting up meetings between Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson and UNE staff.
Minister Anderson said The Nationals are committed to the improvement in education for rural and regional students.
“As leader of The Nationals, I have long been concerned about the fact that primary and secondary students in country schools are falling behind in maths and science. It is a concern that was expressed clearly at The Nationals Federal Conference in October 2003.”
“The National Centre will make a real contribution to improving the education and future security of regional and rural school children and communities.”
It is expected that results of the centre’s initial research will be seen in mid-2005.

Posted by Lydia Roberts at July 19, 2004 03:38 PM