Opinion & Commentary
Education is only way out of ghettos
Alison Anderson, an independent in the NT parliament, attributes her success to strong family and community role models who helped her realise the value of education. She grew up in a number of NT communities, including Hermannsburg and Papunya, but also attended boarding school in Alice Springs. Unfortunately, many children living in remote communities today don't have the strong role models that Alison had. People don't see the value of education because their opportunities are so limited.
A culture of separatism pervades the region. A second tier of employment has been created, where Aboriginal people are channelled into dead-end jobs or segregated "Aboriginal" career stream positions such as teaching assistants, health aides and community police officers.
Rather than empowering people with the benefits of employment, these positions reinforce the perception that Aboriginal people cannot cope in a mainstream job.
The availability of real jobs on remote Aboriginal communities is much greater than most people imagine. For example, in communities such as Mutitjulu and Yuendumu, there is the Yulara Resort, National Parks, the Tanami mine, and the potential for businesses with immediate access to the Tanami Highway, as well as roles in community services.
But Aboriginal people living in these communities have been denied the opportunity to take up these positions because they have not received a proper education. Separate Aboriginal schools have failed to deliver quality education, and children overwhelmingly leave school unable to read.
Adults who have studied for a degree or diploma in education as an Aboriginal teaching assistant are allowed to graduate without knowing how to plan a lesson.
In both cases, they have been set up to fail by the education system. This has bred animosity and resentment and further devalued education in people's eyes.
Why should children bother going to school when they know there is little chance of getting a real job at the end of it?
The NT government is bribing kids to attend school with the promise of free SMS, phone credits, music and movie downloads. But the money would be better spent on specialised teachers, modern resources, and classrooms. The reward for attending school should be a quality education that can lead to a job or career and the opportunity for people to choose a life they value.
There is not a black way of educating a child or a white way of educating a child but a right way.
Sara Hudson is a policy analyst at the Centre for Independent Studies.
