Today the Australian Law Students’ Association (ALSA) provided its submission to the Commonwealth Government’s review of the Commonwealth Scholarship Programme.
ALSA Vice President (Education) Mitch Riley said that it was commendable to see the Government address the shortcomings in the Programme: ‘ALSA has been calling for reforms to the Commonwealth Scholarship Programme for a number of years.
‘We commended the Government’s 2007 commitment to double the number of scholarships, but highlighted that there are inherent deficiencies in the Programme that need to be rectified.
‘These include the four year time limit, which deters students from undertaking law, as it requires a minimum of five years to complete.’
There are two mains scholarships available: the Education Costs Scholarship and the Accommodation Scholarship. The Government has also announced two new scholarships, which do not affect law students.
‘ALSA is concerned that rural students are disadvantaged by some universities only allowing students to obtain one scholarship or the other. Rural students face the same education costs as their metropolitan counterparts, as well as the additional costs of relocation and accommodation. This is why we have called for a national guideline ensuring that rural students are eligible for both scholarships.’
ALSA has also called for the scholarships to be extended to Professional Legal Training courses, which are required for admission to the legal profession.
‘While the scholarships do encourage more people from regional, indigenous and low socioeconomic backgrounds to enter university, if the above concerns are not addressed, these students will be deterred from entering law school, given the length of the degree, competitiveness of entry and its placement in the top HECS band.’
ALSA’s full submission is available at www.alsa.asn.au.
Media contact
Mitch Riley
Vice President (Education)
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0403 781 992
