Australian universities received a windfall this week when the government announced that it would nearly double the higher-education infrastructure endowment, to 11 billion Australian dollars, the newspaper The Australian reported. The amount equals about $10.5-billion.

The increase fulfilled a campaign promise by Australia’s recently elected prime minister, Kevin Rudd, to invest substantially in education. In making the announcement, Education Minister Julia Gillard said the fund was intended to help universities rebuild their campus infrastructure after 11 years of “government neglect” under the previous prime minister.

Academics have complained in the past that cutbacks in education spending were hurting Australia’s competitiveness.

The government also announced several other changes to encourage scientific research. New students entering mathematics and science programs will pay practically no tuition. A thousand midcareer Australian and international researchers will be awarded fellowships. And the number of Commonwealth scholarships for undergraduates will double, to 88,000, over the next four years.

Carolyn Allport, president of the National Tertiary Education Union, said the amount allocated for higher education exceeded her expectations.

“The education revolution has started,” she said. —Martha Ann Overland