Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan has ended his predecessor's university funding freeze with another $134 million cash injection for regional campuses in a targeted pre-election sweetener.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
On Monday, Mr Tehan will announce almost $100 million for more student places at universities such as James Cook, Central Queensland and Sunshine Coast in the battleground state of Queensland, as well as Federation University in Victoria and the University of Newcastle in NSW.
The government will also fund an extra 2000 scholarships for regional and remote students, more than doubling the current number, at a cost of $34 million.
"We need to support regional communities to retain and attract smart young people," Mr Tehan said.
The move will please universities that were angered by a funding freeze imposed by the government in last year's budget, which was expected to hit regional institutions the hardest.
The sector warned up to 10,000 students could miss out on a university place because of the cuts.
Greg Hill, who chairs the Regional Universities Network, had accused Senator Birmingham of leaving regional students "high and dry" under the freeze.
On Sunday, he congratulated the government for "listening to the voice of regional Australia".
"A one-size-fits all policy for higher education does not meet the needs of regional Australia or the nation," he said.
"Place-based initiatives – such as those announced – are needed to make a difference."
James Cook University vice-chancellor Sandra Harding had warned the funding freeze would "retard regional growth and remove the possibility of northern Queensland ever catching up" to the rest of the country.
She welcomed the government's change of course as a "fantastic day" for regional students.
Australians aged 25 to 34 in regional and remote areas are about half as likely to hold a university qualification as their metropolitan counterparts. In the cities, 44.6 per cent of that age group have a bachelor degree or higher – while in the regions the figure is 22.9 per cent, new ABS figures show.
The government had already exempted three universities from the funding freeze by funding new student places at the University of Tasmania, the University of the Sunshine Coast and Southern Cross University.
The freeze was largely directed at sandstone universities, such as Sydney and Melbourne, whom Senator Birmingham accused of running extravagant marketing budgets.
From 2020 – unless the policy is changed – growth in university funding will be capped at the rate of growth of the working-age population, and universities will have to compete for the extra funds.
Labor has pledged to scrap the freeze altogether if it wins government, and restore the uncapped, demand-driven system it introduced when previously in office.
Have you signed up to The Courier's variety of news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in Ballarat.
