Attracting more Mid-North Coast students into higher-level vocational and university programs has received a
further boost.
A feasibility study into future education options for the region was handed last week to Prime Minister Julia Gillard.
The report, outlining potential strategies to raise access and aspiration to education in the region, was presented to the Prime Minister by Independent MP for Lyne Rob Oakeshott, Advisory Board Chairman Jim Davidson and Port Macquarie-Hastings Council representatives Jeffery Sharp (Acting General Manager), Wayne Graham (Higher Education Project Executive Officer) and Trevor Sargeant (Economic Development Manager).
Mr Oakeshott said the feasibility study had been acknowledged by Ms Gillard as a potential blueprint for communities throughout regional Australia.
“The Prime Minister was responsible for a $150,000 grant to fund this study in her former role as Education Minister and I am pleased that the good work done by so many people in our region over the past two years is now being recognised,” Mr Oakeshott said.
“These reforms tie university funding to enrolment targets for students from regional and lower socio-economic areas and the Mid-North Coast is now leading the way in turning these changes into local education outcomes on the ground.”
The feasibility study will be further assessed by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR), with formal feedback anticipated by the end of June.
Council’s Acting General Manager Jeffery Sharp said the expectation was that DEEWR would allow the feasibility study to be made public.
“This will give us a very strong case to present to potential university partners so that they can seek a share of the Federal Government’s $20 million in seed funding through the $500 million Regional Education Investment Fund, in order to reach the aim of creating a significant university campus presence in the Mid-North Coast,” said Mr Sharp.
