Victoria Premier Ted Baillieu

Premier Commits To Increasing Education Opportunities For Rural And Regional Students

Victor P Taffa

Premier Ted Baillieu today announced the Victorian Coalition Government would contribute $3 Million to a project led by the University of Ballarat to increase regional students’ access to higher education and training.

Mr. Baillieu, who is also Minister for the Arts, was at the University of Ballarat today to mark the 10th anniversary of the university’s Arts Academy.

The project will see the University of Ballarat lead a consortium of five regional TAFE institutes to train 180 TAFE teachers to deliver high-level vocational education and training programs and elements of some undergraduate degrees.

The funding is part of the Victorian Government’s $20 Million Regional Partnership Facilitation Fund designed to increase alliances between universities and VET providers in rural and regional Victoria.

Mr. Baillieu said the fund delivered on the government’s commitment to increasing educational opportunities for rural and regional students.

“We have been facing a situation where young people in regional Victoria have fallen behind their metropolitan counterparts in key areas, including attaining a higher education qualification and enrolment at university.” Mr. Baillieu said.

“We have also seen a significant rise in the number of regional students who defer university studies.”

According to Skills Victoria figures, only 11 % of people in regional Victoria have obtained a higher education qualification, while in metropolitan Melbourne the figure is 20 %.

Similarly only 37 % of regional students completing year 12 enrol in university the following year, while the rate for metropolitan students is 54 %.

“I’m pleased to announce the University of Ballarat, together with Bendigo Regional TAFE, East Gippsland TAFE, GippsTAFE, Goulburn Ovens Institute of TAFE, Sunraysia TAFE and Wodonga TAFE will form the first consortium to receive funding under this program.” Mr. Baillieu said.

Mr. Baillieu said the project should result in an extra 1,600 regional higher education enrolments by 2016.

The project will enable the University of Ballarat to deliver a Graduate Certificate of Education – Tertiary Teaching, which is a work-based teaching qualification that will be offered to 180 TAFE teachers over two years. The teachers will be sourced through the university’s regional TAFE partners.

The funding is contingent upon the consortium receiving a Commonwealth Structural Adjustment Fund grant it is currently seeking.

“Access to tertiary education and the opportunities it offers are important to Victoria’s ongoing social and economic development and we are appealing to the Federal Government, and in particular to Ballarat MP Catherine King, to make this project a reality.” Mr. Baillieu said.