The Victoria State government supports the continuation of Greek Studies in Victoria by funding scholarships of up to $ 40,000 for students in the corresponding program of La Trobe University (LTU).
The announcement was made by Labor State MP Kat Theophanous, who is elected in the Northcote region, La Trobe Vice-Chancellor Professor John Dewar AO and Professor Rhiannon Evans, Head of the University’s Department of Languages and Linguistics.
Kat Theophanous worked with the university to draft the proposal and eventually secure funding from the Victoria State government.
The scholarships are awarded as part of the ongoing celebrations for the 200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution of 1821.
Each student will receive $ 4,000 to meet student needs while developing academic skills in the Greek language, which is very important in a range of sectors in Victoria, such as nursing homes, social services and education.
It is recalled that the program was deemed financially non-viable by LTU due to the “low number of enrollments” of students, according to the University, and a proposal had been submitted for its termination as reported by neoskosmos.com.
However, there was an immediate and massive “response” on the part of the Greek community with announcements and letters of protest to La Trobe while a Rescue Committee was set up, which had consultations with the University administration on how Greek Studies could continue.
These discussions bore fruit and the University announced at the end of last year that the Greek Studies Program, in its first phase, will continue to operate until 2023, when there will be a new evaluation for its viability.
To make this possible, the parish was committed to financial support with funding of $ 192,000 for 3 years, and to increase in student enrollment in Greek Studies.
