Ballarat universities have welcomed daily payments of up to $420 for student teachers undertaking placements in schools, to help relieve financial pressure on those studying to educate future generations.
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From 2024, the state government will provide a daily grant ranging from $140 per day in regional urban centres and metropolitan specialist schools to $420 per day in outer regional and remote schools for pre-service teachers on placement.
Experts say it could even help rural and regional schools, who are struggling to attract staff, to fill vacant positions.
New ACU Ballarat School of Education deputy head Jonathon Sargeant said providing financial incentives would help more teaching students pursue placements further afield.
"It recognises the financial impost teaching students have long faced while participating in essential in-school placements, particularly amid a climate of high cost-of-living pressures," Dr Sargeant said.
"It's a big ask - students often have to give up part-time or casual shifts and are left out of pocket by the costs involved in attending their placements, which, when looking at regional, rural, and remote schools, also includes expenses such as accommodation, food and travel costs."
Pre-service teachers are required to complete up to 80 days of placement.
In September, the state government announced scholarships to effectively make studying a secondary teaching degree completely free for around 4000 future teachers each year in a bid to increase the number of secondary teachers.
Teachers are leaving the profession in droves citing salary, lack of respect, intensification of workload, assessments, parent issues and the "full-on" demands of teaching leading to burnout, particularly after the COVID pandemic.
Federation University acting executive dean of the Institute for Education, Arts and Communities Jenene Burke, said pre-service teachers often went on to get jobs in schools where they had done a placement.
"(The grants) will mean that pre-service teachers will be more willing and able to gain valuable experience in rural and regional Victoria and in special schools across the state. Pre-service teachers often gain employment in schools where they have previously completed a placement, so this funding will provide access to potential staff for schools who have had limited opportunities to attract staff," Prof Burke said.
She said many aspiring teachers experienced student poverty when completing compulsory teaching placements.
The state government's $32.2 million Pre-service Teacher Placement Grants program will help to cover accommodation, travel and other loss of income incurred during placements and will be available to students enrolled in an accredited Victorian school teaching degree until December 31, 2025.
