Twelve students from Charles Darwin University (CDU) have today each been awarded a Commonwealth Teaching Scholarship, in a bid to encourage more people to become teachers.
The students are either undergraduate and postgraduate students who are in their first year of their studies and are based in Darwin, in remote locations across the NT or interstate.
Nationally, around 1,000 teaching students across the country received scholarships of $40,000 for undergraduate teaching students and $20,000 for postgraduate students.
The Federal Minister for Education, the Honourable Jason Clare MP, presented the scholarships as part of the Australian Government’s commitment to deliver the $160 million Commonwealth Teaching Scholarships Program.
CDU Vice-Chancellor Professor Scott Bowman says the scholarships will go a long way to support the next generation of Northern Territory teachers, adding that the national teacher shortage is even more evident in the Northern Territory, because of the region’s rural and remote schools.
“At CDU, we have incredibly talented students who want to study teaching and make a difference in the community and these scholarships will help support these students to complete their studies so that they can go on and have successful teaching careers,” Bowman says.
“We thank Minister Clare and the Commonwealth for their support through these scholarships, their commitment will go a long way to ensure the future of education in the Territory.”
More than 5,000 scholarships will be awarded to new teaching students across Australia throughout the program..
Each scholarship has a ‘commitment to teach’ requirement, with recipients committing to teach for four years (undergraduate) and two years (postgraduate) in government-run schools or early learning settings.
CDU Pro Vice-Chancellor Faculty Arts and Society Professor Ruth Wallace says CDU students pursuing a teaching degree have access to a unique learning environment.
“We prepare our students to understand the educational environment here in the Territory and we help to support a teacher workforce that is from the Territory and for the Territory,” Wallace says.
“A commitment of five years for these scholarships will help ensure our students have the chance to thrive, inspire and teach the Territory’s young minds and make a lasting impact.”
