Plan to pay regional students $5000 to relocate for study

Regional school leavers would be paid $5000 to relocate to study at university under a new plan to improve education access for students from remote areas.

Parents of regional students would also have travel costs to visit their children funded by the government if the recommendations of the new review are adopted.

The recommendations come as part of the Napthine Review to make tertiary education more accessible.

The review found children born in regional, rural or remote areas are half as likely to gain a university qualification than their metropolitan counterparts.

Regional students also have far higher dropout rates.

Almost 20 per cent of students from regional and remote areas drop out from university, compared to 13 per cent for students from major cities.

Report author Denis Napthine said the costs associated with relocating to the city make it hard for students to move.

“The cost for the individual and the family is massive,” he told 3AW’s Tom Elliott.

“Some of these costs are really significant impediments to young people getting access to the education they need to give them the opportunities that they deserve.”

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