APPLICATIONS are open for the NSW Government’s Youth Development Scholarship program for young people living in social housing or on the housing register, students receiving private rental assistance, or those living in supported accommodation or out-of-home care.

Member for Coffs Harbour Gurmesh Singh said young people across NSW have had to endure the effects of the pandemic and adapt to new learning environments.

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“The Youth Development Scholarship will help eliminate some of the barriers to higher education encountered by many individuals in our community,” he said.

The $1,000 scholarships for Years 10,11 and 12 or TAFE equivalent, can be used to help pay for education-related expenses such as textbooks, IT equipment and internet access.

TAFE NSW Team Leader Education Pathways Leonie Nilson told News Of The Area, the availability of scholarships to TAFE NSW students completing alternative pathways to complete year ten or twelve is a great outcome.

“At TAFE NSW Coffs Harbour, we provide students with alternative access to courses to complete their secondary schooling and successfully transition to further study and employment,” she said.

“The scholarships provide critical support to assist students in overcoming financial barriers that prevent engagement in their learning, including accessing basic technology they need at home, as well as assistance with transport costs to attend classes.”

Commenting on the program, Parul Punjabi Jagdish, AIME Mentor & Head of Education in Coffs Harbour told News Of The Area, “We know education is a way out of inequity and scholarships are a critical element of laying the foundations for equal opportunities for all.

“It’s great to see the government take initiative in this area, but we definitely need to do more.

“We need to create additional connections and mentoring relationships if we truly want to solve the problem, so these youngsters have a pathway from education to employment and other life-fulfilling opportunities.

“At AIME, through the work we do with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth, we find that the most effective way of offering scholarships is to build an element of service into them, so that one vulnerable youth who gets lifted out of inequity then puts their hands up to mentor and lift 100 others like themselves to help build a fairer nation and world.”

By Andrea FERRARI