GEOGRAPHY should not be a factor in gaining a higher education, according to Nationals Senator for Victoria Bridget McKenzie.
The Senator visited the Mildura campuses of La Trobe University and Sunraysia Institute of TAFE this week to discuss her party’s plan to implement a $20,000 rural access allowance for students who have to leave their regional communities in order to complete their chosen tertiary course.
Senator McKenzie said it was equally important for regional communities to provide access to the higher education as it was to support students who need to move away from home.
“Having a campus in a regional community means that people who have the aspiration and dedication but may not be able to leave to attend higher education can actually obtain a qualification and therefore retain those skills within our communities,” she said.
“(But) one thing we’ll be fighting for is a rural access allowance, a $20,000 grant to students who have to leave home and travel more than 90 minutes to get to a tertiary institute, not of their own choice but (in order to do) the course they want to participate in.