A Staggering Number Of Students Experience Uncertainty Over Youth Allowance Changes

A staggering number of students are experiencing a high level of uncertainty about what they will be doing in 2010 due to the delays in resolving the Youth Allowance debate. CEFA Executive Director, Jocellin Jansson has written to Minister Gillard imploring her to resolve this issue urgently and fairly.

Ms Jansson wrote to Minister Gillard on behalf of CEFA’s 38 local education foundations, which are comprised of more than 400 voluntary committee members across rural Australia, saying an urgent and fair resolution was essential. With the debate unresolved Ms Jansson said, it is having a significantly negative impact on rural students with many of our local education foundation committees reporting that their annual grant applicant interviews in November and December showed a staggering number of students were experiencing a high level of uncertainty about what they would be doing in 2010. The reason for this is they do not know what level of support, if any, they will be able to access and therefore if their goal of attending university is achievable.

Our 38 local education foundations across rural Australia foresee that we will have record levels of students deferring their university offers in 2010 because of this unresolved situation. Should this happen, the long term negative impact on rural communities and our national community will be significant as many of the students will steadily lose sight of their tertiary education goals.

For Australia to be able to fulfil its potential as an innovative and successful country, we need much greater investment into education, particularly into making a genuine effort to assist marginalised students, such as our rural students, achieve their full potential.

It is imperative that any legislative changes adopted are not retrospective and that rural students not be required to defer their university offers for two years in order to qualify for the ‘Independent’ level of Youth Allowance. Anyone who has spent time in rural communities will understand that for the vast majority, providing part-time or full-time jobs for unskilled youth in the numbers this type of change would require will be impossible. What are these students then expected to do? Why should they be penalised? Deferring should be a matter of choice for a student if they feel that it is the best option for them, not because their hand is forced.

We should be encouraging students to pursue their tertiary education goals as part of our long-term investment in our nation’s economy, our culture and national identity, not just for today’s youth but for the many generations that will follow.

Outstanding education outcomes is what will set Australia and its citizens apart but this will only happen if we have a fair and just education support system that has a realistic level of funding committed to it.

We need a suitable, forward-thinking resolution to this debate and we need it before even greater numbers of rural students lose sight of their tertiary education aspirations.

End

Contact
Jocellin Jansson, Executive Director
Country Education Foundation of Australia Limited
Phone 1300 652144
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