Students commencing teaching degrees in 2024 can now register for scholarships worth up to $40,000, which are designed to encourage more people to become teachers in places like Corangamite.
Federal Member for Corangamite, Libby Coker MP, said the Albanese Government was delivering on its election promise to deliver the $160 million Commonwealth Teaching Scholarships Program.
Ms Coker recently visited Mirripoa Primary School and saw first-hand the terrific work being done by local educators.
“As a former teacher, I love meeting teachers, because ultimately it is their influence that extends beyond the classroom, well into the future,” Ms Coker said.
“I was able to chat to the teachers in the staff room about their love of teaching and what drew them to their profession. Recent surveys show that most teachers do not think that what they do is valued by the community. We need to change that.”
In designing the scholarships, the Government consulted with school principals and teachers, who spoke about the scholarships they received and how they often included a requirement to teach for a period of time.
Ms Coker said that based on this feedback, the scholarships will include a ‘commitment to teach’ requirement, which means recipients must be willing to commit to teach for four years (undergraduate) and two years (postgraduate) in government-run schools or early learning settings, including in areas like Corangamite.
The 5,000 scholarships will be available for new teaching students studying from 2024 and will be targeted at high-achieving school leavers, mid-career professionals, First Nations peoples, people with disability, people from whom English is an additional language or dialect and individuals from rural, regional and remote locations or from low socio-economic backgrounds.
Corangamite students who are considering studying to become a teacher should consider registering.
Scholarships of $40,000 each will be available for undergraduate teaching students over four years and $20,000 for postgraduate students over two years.
To encourage more teachers to live and work in remote Australia, including in Corangamite, students completing their final year professional experience placements in these communities may receive an additional top-up payment of $2000.
This also builds on the Government’s program to cut HECS-HELP debt for teachers in very remote areas.
Prospective teaching students can check their eligibility and register their interest at education.gov.au/teaching-scholarships. Applications close on 14 January 2024.
Quotes attributable to Member for Corangamite Libby Coker MP:
“The Albanese Government is committed to encouraging more people to study to become a teacher in places like Corangamite.
“This is one of the ways we are working to boost the teacher workforce in areas that need it the most.
“I encourage our best and brightest Corangamite students to register for one of these scholarships.”
Quotes attributable to Minister for Education Jason Clare:
“Teachers do one of the most important jobs in the world, but we don’t have enough of them.
“I want more young people to leap out of high school and want to become a teacher, rather than a lawyer or a banker.
“And I want more people in the middle of their careers to consider becoming teachers.
“That’s what these scholarships are all about.
“Tying scholarships to a commitment to teach is an old school idea that will help tackle today’s teacher workforce challenges.
“They will help 5,000 of the best and brightest teaching students to complete their studies and begin changing lives in the schools who need it most.
“This is one part of our plan to tackle the teacher workforce shortage and builds on our reforms to teacher training, extra uni places for teaching and the Be that teacher campaign to elevate the profession.”
