Regional students disadvantaged

Posted by Admin on December 23, 2009, 7:47pm

The Federal Government’s axing of scholarships for tertiary students next year is a “bloody disgrace”, according to a Mount Gambier philanthropist who has long campaigned for a better deal for rural youth.

The Border Watch reports tertiary education participation rates for South East students remain at around 16pc, which is about half the national average, according to Bob Cowan.

But he said the situation was even worse for South East boys, only 10pc of whom went on to university.

“That is a shocking waste of talent,” he said, explaining the lack of proper financial support was largely to blame, with many youths now taking two years off study to work before attending university.

Local mother Dianna Llloyd, who is the Southern Cross University Green Triangle forestry coordinator, said although students from the region had excelled in SACE results, many were unable to progress to university next year.

“Many of the kids who did well are taking a year off and for most of them a key reason is Youth Allowance and parents not being in a position to send kids to university without it,” she said.

She said the situation would worsen the shortage of professionals in regional areas.

“We need local people going off and being trained so we can get university-trained people back in the community,” she said.

Ms Lloyd said that although quality tertiary education was available locally, options were limited.

“Unless people are doing one of the local courses, they are taking a year off or not going to university at all as they can’t do it without financial support,” she said.

“People from regional areas who have to leave home for university should automatically get Youth Allowance — it is about equity and getting professionals back to regional areas.”

Ms Lloyd said she was thankful her family’s financial position allowed her daughter to begin five years of university study next year, rather than delay her career.

“Unfortunately, that’s something a lot of people can’t entertain,” she said.

Fran McInerney, who achieved a tertiary entrance rank of 97.40 at Tenison Woods College this year, hopes to study nursing or podiatry in Adelaide.

But she is going to take a year off first, working full time as well as potentially a second job waitressing in the evenings, to prepare for the cost of university.

Fran said she would qualify for Youth Allowance, but appreciated the year off study, rather than stepping straight into the struggle of the demands of university study, settling into a new city and facing financial pressure.

“It would be a big adjustment a long way from the support of home,” she said.

“A lot of my friends have started wondering whether they will qualify for Youth Allowance and how they would manage without it — it’s in everyone’s minds.”

Mr Cowan said it cost some South East families up to $12,000 to $15,000 for the first year of their children’s university study and many students worked up to 20 hours per week to make ends meet, juggling employment with study demands and social lives.

“Neither major party has shown any real understanding of rural issues,” he said.

Mr Cowan, chairman of the Cowan Grant, which offers scholarships for regional students, said he was disgusted by recent developments in Federal Parliament that saw scholarships cut by Labor before it introduced a new package, that was voted down by Liberal politicians and Family First Senator Steven Fielding.

“There is half a hope it will get through in February, but in the meantime there is this phalanx of kids who don’t know what the circumstances will be and might get nothing,” he said.

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