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.
These students are part of the almost 1,000 teaching students across the country who received scholarships.
Scholarships of $40,000 each will be available for undergraduate teaching students and $20,000 for postgraduate students.
The scholarships were presented to students by the Minister for Education the Honourable Jason Clare MP as part of the Federal Government's commitment to deliver the $160 million Commonwealth Teaching Scholarships Program.
CDU Vice-Chancellor Professor Scott Bowman said the scholarships will go a long way to support the next generation of Northern Territory teachers.
"Australia is suffering from a teacher shortage right now and this is none more evident then here in the Territory, in particular our regional and remote schools," Professor Bowman said.
"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.
"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."
Throughout the five-year program more than 5,000 scholarships will be awarded to new teaching students across Australia.
Each scholarship has a 'commitment to teach' requirement meaning recipients must be willing to commit 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 said students studying teaching at CDU have 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," Professor Wallace said.
"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."
CDU offers a range of education courses for students to choose from.
