Agriculture students will pay 62 per cent less for their degree from 2021.
It comes after the National Regional, Rural and Remote Tertiary Education Strategy report led by Denis Napthine was released last year.
The report showed people who grew up in regional, rural and remote areas were around 40 per cent less likely to gain a higher-level tertiary education qualification and less than half as likely to gain a bachelor and above qualification by the time they are 35 years old, than those from metropolitan areas.
The announcement from the federal Government will support rural and regional students with:
- $5,000 to students from outer regional and remote areas to help pay the relocation costs when they move to study a Certificate IV qualification or higher, as well as improvements to Fares Allowance, to make it easier for relocated students to travel home during their first year of study.
- $500 million to universities for programs that support Indigenous, regional and low socioeconomic-status students.
- $48.8 million to fund research collaboration between regional universities, industry and other higher education partners.
- $21 million to establish additional Regional University Centres throughout Australia.
- 3.5 per cent growth in additional Commonwealth Grant Scheme funding to regional and remote university campuses.
- Demand-driven funding to support more Indigenous students from regional and remote communities to go to university.
Education Minister Dan Tehan said the government would appoint a Regional Education Commissioner to drive the Napthine reforms and support the implementation of the Government's Regional Education Strategy.
"Halving the gap in attainment and participation rates in regional and remote areas by 2030 will increase GDP by 0.6 per cent by 2050, or around $25 billion a year," Mr Tehan said.
Agriculture Minister David Littleproud reinforced agriculture's status as an essential, high-growth industry.
"These reforms recognise that the farming sector will lead Australia's economic recovery out of COVID-19 and towards the Ag2030 $100 billion target," Mr Littleproud said.
He said new technology and new farming techniques, together with "the emergence of internationally competitive industry and business structures" showed agriculture was changing and upskilling was important.
"The announcement by Minister Tehan supports our focus on securing Australia's food security supply chain and harnessing export opportunities," Mr Littleproud said.
"It also reinforces the importance of our development of a National Agriculture Workforce Strategy to guide these future graduates to long and fulfilling agriculture careers.
"These reforms will also allow us to support more regional, rural and Indigenous students to access higher education, because we believe that every Australian should have access to a world-class education."
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Marian Macdonald
Writing for farmers in the Stock & Land, The Land, Queensland Country Life, Stock Journal and FarmWeekly, farming in Gippsland.
Writing for farmers in the Stock & Land, The Land, Queensland Country Life, Stock Journal and FarmWeekly, farming in Gippsland.
