Professional development

Tehan outlines added incentives for ECEC students to study outside capital cities

Freya Lucas

May 13, 2020

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More Australian students, including those wanting to further their studies in early childhood education and care (ECEC), will receive scholarships to study outside the capital cities to support regional communities and education providers, Federal Minister for Education Dan Tehan announced yesterday.

The second round of applications for the Australian Government’s Destination Australia program opened yesterday, allowing regional universities and vocational education providers to apply to offer scholarships of up to $15,000 a student per year, building on the $19.5 million already provided to 35 regional higher education and vocational education providers in 84 locations across Australia to host Destination Australia scholarship recipients.

Scholarships will increase by 250 as a result of yesterday’s announcement, with the Government providing $4 million a year over four years from semester one 2021.

Students are able to undertake qualifications spanning Certificate IV through to a PhD in regional communities under the scholarship program.

Mr Tehan espoused the values of learning in a regional area, saying these communities are “great places to learn and great places to live and we want to support students to experience the benefits of regional life”.

As well as providing benefits for students, Mr Tehan said the program “will also ensure that regional communities and education providers share the benefits of our higher education system”.

Mr Tehan shared the announcement with Federal Minister for Skills, Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash, who said the scholarships would provide Australians with more opportunities to attain a vocational qualification for critical jobs in the economy.

The Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector, she said, “is providing qualifications that will be essential to Australia’s economic recovery,” including in ECEC.

Federal Decentralisation and Regional Education Minister Andrew Gee encouraged all regional tertiary education providers to take advantage of the opportunity to attract new students to their campuses, saying the scholarships represented “another opportunity for country Australia to share in the social, economic and cultural benefits of our tertiary education sector, to help them get back on their feet after recent devastating bushfires, drought and COVID-19.”

Successful providers will be entitled to additional funding to allocate, administer and promote the scholarships to prospective international and domestic students.

As a next step, tertiary education providers should check their eligibility and apply via Community Grants Hub before applications close on 7 July. Students should apply directly to institutions.

More information is available here.

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