STUDENTS and parents can breathe a sigh of relief after the Federal Government backtracked on its decision to cut funding to the Life Education Australia (LEA) program.

Famous for its cheerful giraffe mascot, Healthy Harold, the educational program originally began in Murwillumbah in 1981, teaching school children about healthy habits and the dangers of drugs.

With education vans across the country, the future of LEA was left dangling last month after the Federal Government said it would cut its funding in this year's budget.

After a crazy 24 hours following the initial announcement where many social media users slammed the decision, Education Minster Simon Birmingham tweeted the government would "work with (LEA) to ensure the funding and the program continues".

Teaching alongside Healthy Harold in the Tweed, LEA educator Nicole Ward said she was relieved to hear support for the program would continue.

"It was a bit scary when we first heard about it," Ms Ward said.

"Life Education is a charity and we run on funding. Each child that comes in costs $10 but it's about $14 to $16 to run the program. We're already out of pocket because we have to pay educators and maintain the van. We do have some local schools that struggle to try to get the children in there because of the fee. We try to waive as much money because we don't like the kids to miss out.

"With the back-up of the government having that funding there took a lot of the pressure off."

Ms Ward said the children learned many lessons from LEA and believed the teachings would continue to help when they become adults.

"We're trying to educate the kids for when they become adults so they can make healthier decisions."

"If they're making healthier decisions, it's not costing the government money because they're not using rehab and hospitals."

The LEA programs are varied, with students learning about social media, bullying, healthy eating choices and drug and alcohol abuse.

"It's such a unique experience to come out of the classroom into a mobile classroom and teaching in a different way than they're used to in school."

Tweed Council recently gave $4000 to LEA as part of its sponsorship program.