❓ Mr. Papalia questions the Minister for Education regarding changes to the enrolment policy for Schools of Isolated and Distance Education (SIDE), particularly concerning students over 17 and prisoners. The Minister clarifies the policy, stating current students can remain enrolled, but new enrolments for those over 18 are restricted.
AnsweredQoN 331Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
SCHOOLS OF
ISOLATED AND DISTANCE EDUCATION — enrolment policy
331. Mr P. PAPALIA to the Minister for Education:
I refer to the Department of Education's announcement
that from next year students older than 17 years who do Schools of Isolated and
Distance Education courses will no longer be enrolled at SIDE and will be
forced to attend one of only four inner metropolitan campuses.
(1) How many
students will the minister force to pay for extra transport and other costs,
such as child care, to attend these four schools rather than undertaking SIDE
courses?
(2) Has the
minister considered the cost-of-living impact on young mothers who are
currently enrolled in SIDE to complete their secondary education?
(3) Will this
decision impact the many prisoners across a range of prisons who are currently
trying to reform themselves through SIDE courses; and, if so, how will the
minister cater for these prisoners?
ISOLATED AND DISTANCE EDUCATION — enrolment policy
331. Mr P. PAPALIA to the Minister for Education:
I refer to the Department of Education's announcement
that from next year students older than 17 years who do Schools of Isolated and
Distance Education courses will no longer be enrolled at SIDE and will be
forced to attend one of only four inner metropolitan campuses.
(1) How many
students will the minister force to pay for extra transport and other costs,
such as child care, to attend these four schools rather than undertaking SIDE
courses?
(2) Has the
minister considered the cost-of-living impact on young mothers who are
currently enrolled in SIDE to complete their secondary education?
(3) Will this
decision impact the many prisoners across a range of prisons who are currently
trying to reform themselves through SIDE courses; and, if so, how will the
minister cater for these prisoners?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(3)
I thank the member for the question. There has been some misunderstanding about
the enrolment policy of the department. Any person who is enrolled in a school
now, be it SIDE or any other school, and becomes of adult age beyond school
age, can remain in that school; they do not have to move just because their age
changes. Schools have been told that they cannot take new enrolments in schools
if someone is beyond the age of 18 years or the school-leaving age. I am not
aware of very many prisoners being educated through SIDE and I would be
surprised if there were many, so I will have to check the member's
statement, because I am not sure whether it is correct.
Mr P. Papalia :
They have also been told, minister, that they cannot enrol them if they are
going to turn 18 from next year.
Dr E. CONSTABLE :
No, they have not. That is not what they have been told. I have checked that
policy. If already enrolled in a school —
Mr P. Papalia : Are
you sure about that?
Dr E. CONSTABLE : I
am absolutely certain. If a person is already enrolled in a school, they can
continue their enrolment, but a school cannot enrol someone new in the school
if they are 18 years of age. They would then have to go to one of the other
colleges. But someone does not have to change their enrolment just because
their age changes; they can stay within the school they are enrolled in.
I thank the member for the question. There has been some misunderstanding about
the enrolment policy of the department. Any person who is enrolled in a school
now, be it SIDE or any other school, and becomes of adult age beyond school
age, can remain in that school; they do not have to move just because their age
changes. Schools have been told that they cannot take new enrolments in schools
if someone is beyond the age of 18 years or the school-leaving age. I am not
aware of very many prisoners being educated through SIDE and I would be
surprised if there were many, so I will have to check the member's
statement, because I am not sure whether it is correct.
Mr P. Papalia :
They have also been told, minister, that they cannot enrol them if they are
going to turn 18 from next year.
Dr E. CONSTABLE :
No, they have not. That is not what they have been told. I have checked that
policy. If already enrolled in a school —
Mr P. Papalia : Are
you sure about that?
Dr E. CONSTABLE : I
am absolutely certain. If a person is already enrolled in a school, they can
continue their enrolment, but a school cannot enrol someone new in the school
if they are 18 years of age. They would then have to go to one of the other
colleges. But someone does not have to change their enrolment just because
their age changes; they can stay within the school they are enrolled in.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.