A controversial school funding model will be reviewed as the Northern Territory government promises an overhaul of efforts to boost school attendance, particularly in remote areas.
Launching a new 10-year "engagement strategy" this week, NT Education Minister Lauren Moss said the plan would focus on strengthening Indigenous culture and language in schools and increasing the Aboriginal teaching workforce.
The government has also commissioned a review of the NT's "effective enrolment" funding model, under which funding is allocated in part based on school attendance rather than enrolment.
The model has been labelled as unfair for remote parts of the NT where attendance fluctuates over the year, making it difficult for schools to fund re-engagement efforts or plan classroom resourcing.
The funding review was welcomed by Arnhem Land independent MLA Yingiya Guyula, who represents the electorate of Mulka.
"We need to get rid of the effective enrolments that is robbing remote schools of their funds," Mr Guyula said.
The government is seeking external consultants to conduct the review, with any funding changes to take effect in 2023.
Education Department chief executive Karen Weston said the NT's needs-based funding model was sound, but the government had heard the feedback from remote schools about funding "volatility" under the effective enrolment program.
"It's really important that our remote schools have the resources to be able to employ their Aboriginal staff [and] that we can deliver the Australian curriculum to those students," Ms Weston said.
A new schooling strategy
The engagement strategy is set to run for 10 years but is so far only funded for three, through a "reprioritisation" of $10 million in the Education Department.
Ms Moss said previous "mistakes and missteps" in education policies – including the banning of bilingual education by a previous Labor government -- had contributed to the chronically low attendance rates seen in parts of the NT.
Education Department figures released to the ABC last year showed some remote schools' attendance rates were as low as 14 per cent in 2019.
Under the new plan, the government is promising the expansion of an Aboriginal teacher training program, localised cultural competency training for school staff, more school counsellors and an expansion of the Learning on Country program.
Ms Moss said measurable attendance targets would be set after consultations with yet-to-be-created local Aboriginal advisory groups.
Australian Education Union NT branch president Jarvis Ryan said the government deserved credit for acknowledging previous failures and changing direction.
But he warned that change would not come quickly.
"You need people with the right skill set to deliver that, and a lot of that capacity has been run down over many years of neglect," Mr Ryan said.
