Unis applaud Labor’s $174m regional funding pledge

Universities have welcomed Labor’s promise to boost funding for disadvantaged students by $174 million over the next 10 years.

Universities have welcomed Labor’s promise to boost funding for disadvantaged students by $174 million across the next 10 years, focusing on regions where participation rates in higher education are low.

Federal opposition education and training spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek announced yesterday that the money also would help TAFE and community groups to assist potential students.

Universities Australia, representing the major comprehensive institutions, said such programs had proved their worth in increasing the proportion of disadvantaged students at university.

“As UA has pointed out for years, a young person living in regional Australia is only half as likely to have a degree as someone who lives in a capital city,” acting chief executive Anne-Marie Lansdown said.

“We are pleased to see this funding pledge to sow the seeds of university aspiration in communities that still face some of the biggest education gaps.”

The Group of Eight, representing the eight research-intensive universities, said that it educated one in eight rural and regional students, but more needed to be done.

Go8 chief executive Vicki Thomson said where someone lived, or their circumstances, should not be a barrier to attending university.

Another grouping, the seven- strong Innovative Research Univers­ities, also praised the initiat­ive.

“The extra money announced today will allow Labor, if in government, to tie support funding to the number of students needing it so it grows in line with enrolments,” IRU executive dir­ec­tor Conor King said. “That would give universities an added incentive to attract students from low SES backgrounds.”

However federal Education Minister Dan Tehan pointed out that the Morrison government had major programs in place to assist disadvantage students to get to university.

Programs lauded by Labor as “doing ‘terrific work’ in helping disadvantaged people access education are, in fact, being funded by this government”, he said.

“The government is providing $650 million to improve access to undergraduate courses for people from low socio-economic status backgrounds, benefitting more 125,000 students each year,” Mr Tehan said.

“We delivered on our 2016 election commitment through our $152 million Regional Student Access to Education Package, which included $24 million for scholarships to support 1200 regional and remote students to undertake science, technology, engineering, mathematics, health and agriculture studies.

“The government is also providing $16.7 million over four years to establish and maintain community-owned, regional study hubs across Australia to improve access to higher education.”