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$214m increase for Indigenous education
SALLY EDSALL outlines some of the Budget highlights for Indigenous education programs.
The Budget provides an additional $214 million in increased education and training funding to support Indigenous education, particularly to support Indigenous students living in remote communities where secondary education and training choices are limited.
The 2007-08 Budget will provide:
- $36 million to expand the Indigenous Youth Leadership program from the current 250 scholarships to 1000 over four years.
This program provides scholarships for Indigenous students to attend "high performing" government and non government schools and universities.
- $33.2 million to expand Indigenous Youth Mobility Program places from the current 640 places to 1500 over four years.
This program allows young Indigenous people from remote Australia to move to a major centre to participate in pre-vocational training, Australian Apprenticeships, certificate courses and university courses such as those leading to nursing, teaching, accounting and business management qualifications.
- $27.7 million for up to 1000 Indigenous higher education students annually, particularly those who need to relocate from rural and remote areas, to receive a one-off payment of $4000 to take up a university undergraduate or enabling course.
- AbStudy will rise from $110 million to $112.6 million. Tighter attendance requirements for eligibility to receive the allowance were announced in the last Budget. From July 1, 2007, the Government will limit to four years the amount of time a student is eligible to receive AbStudy living allowances while undertaking Certificate I and II Australian Qualifications Frameworks courses.
- $50 million to assist non government boarding schools, particularly those in remote and regional areas, that accommodate significant numbers of Indigenous students to upgrade school facilities; and a $15.3 million investment for upgrades to their accommodation facilities;
- $21.4 million over four years to fund projects aimed at attracting, engaging and supporting Indigenous adults in regional and remote communities to take up training opportunities in their local area, particularly through the Australian Government's Work Skills Voucher program;
- $15.1 million to convert around 200 Community Development Employment Project positions into jobs in the education sector;
- $10.2 million to complete the preservation of a unique historical and cultural resource collection held by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies.
Other Indigenous programs administered by DEST can be found at http://www.dest.gov.au/sectors/indigenous_education/programmes_funding/programmes_fundings_menu.htm.
Sally Edsall is a Research Officer.
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