'Apartheid' to blame for NT education standards BEN LANGFORD 08Apr08 A 'report' by Professor Hughes, a senior fellow at a right-wing think-tank, the Centre for Independent Studies is not based on an actual visit to an Aboriginal community - a classic case of "apartheid"
| As a trainee teacher in Western Australia - I saw plenty of illiteracy amongst non-Aboriginal people. State schools in working class suburbs were most likely to have poor literacy outcomes.Children perceived as 'factory fodder' by the State, are not taught the literacy skills of private school students who are groomed for management and governance. Most 'Labor' politicians went to the same expensive and exclusive schools as their conservative counterparts. For obvious reasons, schools in remote Aboriginal communities are even more socioeconomically disadvantaged than State schools elsewhere in Australia.'Mainstreaming literacy, numeracy and other skills in Aboriginal communities is an absurd proposition. Too many environmental and cultural factors are involved. Present education policy, heavily politicised and slanted towards non-Aboriginal goals will always be rejected by Aboriginal people.- an outcome that does not displease a State opposed to Aboriginal empowerment English is a second (if not third or fourth) language to most Aboriginal people.- so Aboriginal language skills are demonstrably, far more impressive than those of most 'mainstream Australians' (Mick lambe) I tutored Aboriginal people in 'literacy and numeracy' and university level courses at Belyuen community (for Batchelor Aboriginal college) in the 90's ."A survey conducted in 2000 found that about 45% of Australians have poor literacy skills." | GENERATIONS of children have been failed by "apartheid'' in the Territory education system, an academic report has found. Helen Hughes has attacked the NT education system, saying indigenous children were leaving school with the literacy and numeracy levels of a five-year-old. She blamed curriculum material and reduced opening hours at some remote homeland learning centres. "Indigenous children are being denied primary education,'' Professor Hughes said. "It's the apartheid education that is failing these children and creating horrendous problems for the NT.'' Professor Hughes, a senior fellow at a right-wing think-tank, the Centre for Independent Studies, said fly-in teachers at homeland schools would often teach for less than one day a week. And her report said the curriculum taught at remote schools needed to be mainstreamed. |
NT Education Minister Marion Scrymgour said the report was ``offensive'' and was generalised from Professor Hughes's visit to one outstation, Yilpara. "It's misleading and offensive, particularly to remote area teachers and a slur on their reputation,'' she said. "The NT curriculum framework is already in place in every school in the NT and that includes our indigenous schools in remote communities.'' Professor Hughes said she had never been to Yilpara, 240km south of Nhulunbuy. But she admitted she did not visit any communities to research her report. "I'm not a journalist,'' she said. She said her report was written from other reports -- mainly from the NT Education Department. Ms Scrymgour said there were problems with remote education but said the Government was committed to overcoming them with its Closing the Gap program.
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