A parliamentary inquiry into public school education is underway following local disability education support services being reduced or fully cut.
Shadow Education Minister, Matt Bach, said Bendigo school children, like others around the state, are presenting with disabilities in greater numbers than before the pandemic.
Yet a program providing one-on-one specialist support to students with disabilities and illnesses has been cut and the Visiting Teacher Service, which caters particularly for hearing and vision-impaired students, has let go over 70% of teachers.
The Nationals-initiated inquiry is tasked with considering trends in student learning outcomes and well-being in the state system since the pandemic, also investigating differences between metro and regional students.
