FORMER Victorian premier Dr Denis Napthine has welcomed the opportunity to chair the advisory group which aims to boost participation and attainment rates of rural students in universities, saying he won't be trying to reinvent the wheel.
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Dr Napthine will head up a new advisory group aimed at driving up the number of rural university students as part a $134 million federal government boost to the tertiary sector.
Under the package, the Morrison Government promised Australians living in regional and remote communities would have greater access to higher education.
"It's a very exciting opportunity and something I'm very passionate about," he said.
"My personal background is that I came from the country and benefitted from a university education. I was a graduate of a Deakin University MBA through an off-campus program.
"I understand the challenges of distance education and very much the benefits for regional and rural students."
Dr Napthine said he shared federal Education Minister Dan Tehan's ambition.
"That is to significantly improve the opportunities for young people in country Victoria to access tertiary education and also the desire to boost regional university campuses to not only provide the best education for regional and rural people but also attract student from major cities, interstate and overseas," he said.
Dr Napthine said he understood that Mr Tehan was seeking a quick turnaround for ideas and proposals.
"As chair I won't be looking to reinvent the wheel. There's been a lot of work done in this space and will be aiming to turn that knowledge into real policies that will make a difference," he said.
Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan said it was as important for parents in regional and rural Australian that their children be able to access tertiary education as those in capital cities.
He said the $134 million announcement aimed to ensure that country kids got the same opportunities as their city cousins so readily had.
Mr Tehan said that currently the attainment rate in the city for students attending university was 44 percent while in the country that percentage of students was only 22 per cent.
"We have to fix this and the strategy Dr Napthine puts together will help us do exactly that," he said.
Mr Tehan said there would be more opportunities for students in Wannon to go to university with the federal government providing an additional $34.1 million for scholarships for regional and remote students.
He said the government was funding an additional 1995 scholarships.
