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Introduction 1 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF THE NORTHERN TERRITORY PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE REPORT ON THE PROVISION OF SCHOOL EDUCATION SERVICES FOR REMOTE ABORIGINAL COMMUNITIES IN THE NORTHERN TERRITORY REPORT NUMBER 27 AUGUST 1996 Presented and Ordered to be printed by the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory on 1996 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF THE NORTHERN TERRITORY PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE REPORT ON THE PROVISION OF SCHOOL EDUCATION SERVICES FOR REMOTE ABORIGINAL COMMUNITIES IN THE NORTHERN TERRITORY REPORT NUMBER 27 AUGUST 1996 Public Accounts Committee __________________________________________________________________________________________ MEMBERS (in attendance during inquiry) Mr Rick Setter, MLA (Chairman) Mr John Bailey, MLA Mrs Loraine Braham, MLA Mr Denis Burke, MLA Mr Brian Ede, MLA Mr Phil Mitchell, MLA Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE GPO Box 3721 Darwin NT 0801 Level 3, Parliament House Telephone: (08) 89461 459 Mitchell Street Facsimile: (08) 89816 158 Darwin NT 0800 Email [email protected] ____________________________________________________________________________________________ ii Report on the Provision of School Education Services for Remote Aboriginal Communities in the Northern Territory __________________________________________________________________________________________ CONTENTS Page No. LIST OF TABLES x ABBREVIATIONS xi NORTHERN TERRITORY PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE xiii STATUS OF THE COMMITTEE xiii DUTIES OF THE COMMITTEE xiii COMMITTEE MEMBERS in attendance during Inquiry xiv TERMS OF REFERENCE xv CONDUCT OF INQUIRY xvi CHAIRMAN’S FOREWORD xvii PREAMBLE xix Philosophical Beliefs xix EXECUTIVE SUMMARY xxi Chapter 1 xxi Chapter 2 xxi Chapter 3 xxii Chapter 4 xxiii Chapter 5 xxiii Chapter 6 xxiv Chapter 7 xxiv Chapter 8 xxv COMMITTEE’S RECOMMENDATIONS xxvii __________________________________________________________________________________________ iii Public Accounts Committee __________________________________________________________________________________________ CHAPTER 1 1 1. INTRODUCTION 1 1.1. Schooling for Remote Aboriginal Communities in the Northern Territory 1 1.1.1. Homeland Learning Centres 1 1.1.2. Student Enrolment 2 1.1.3. Student Attendance 2 RECOMMENDATION 1. 5 1.1.4. Adjusting Staffing to Fluctuating Enrolments 6 1.2. Poverty 6 RECOMMENDATION 2. 7 1.3. Overview of Submissions 7 1.4. Overview of Evidence Gathered by the Public Accounts Committee 8 1.5. Definitions 9 RECOMMENDATION 3. 11 CHAPTER 2 13 2. MAJOR ISSUES 13 2.1. Student Achievement 13 2.2. English as a Second Language (ESL) 13 RECOMMENDATION 4. 15 2.3. Early Literacy 15 RECOMMENDATION 5. 17 2.4. Primary Education 17 RECOMMENDATION 6. 20 2.5. Secondary Education 21 2.5.1. Outcomes 21 2.5.2. Participation 21 2.5.3. Education for Secondary-aged Students 21 2.5.4. Mixed Mode Delivery 22 2.5.5. Standard Secondary Education 22 2.5.6. Boarding Schools 23 2.5.7. Regional Facilities for Secondary-aged Students 23 2.5.8. Funding Considerations 23 RECOMMENDATION 7. 24 ____________________________________________________________________________________________ iv Report on the Provision of School Education Services for Remote Aboriginal Communities in the Northern Territory __________________________________________________________________________________________ 2.6. Special Education 24 RECOMMENDATION 8. 25 2.7. Housing 25 2.7.1. Housing for the Total Community 25 RECOMMENDATION 9. 26 2.7.2. Housing for Local Recruits 26 RECOMMENDATION 10. 26 2.7.3. Housing for External Recruits 27 RECOMMENDATION 11. 27 2.8. Education and Health 27 RECOMMENDATION 12. 29 2.9. Developing a ‘Schooling Culture’ 29 RECOMMENDATION 13. 30 2.10. Aboriginalisation 30 2.10.1. Lowering Academic Standards in Aboriginal Schools 30 2.10.2. Aboriginal Culture and Language 31 2.10.3. Teacher Training 31 2.10.4. Batchelor College Graduates 33 2.10.5. The Role of Aboriginal Teachers 34 2.10.6. Aboriginal Teachers in Promotional Positions 34 2.10.7. Support for Aboriginal Teachers 34 RECOMMENDATION 14. 35 2.11. Staffing Schools in Aboriginal Communities 35 RECOMMENDATION 15. 36 2.12. Education Agreements 36 RECOMMENDATION 16. 37 2.13. Funding Levels 37 RECOMMENDATION 17. 39 CHAPTER 3 40 3. TERMS OF REFERENCE (a) 40 the mechanisms and criteria for the allocation of resources to schools, including a comparison of the allocative mechanisms of the Northern Territory and the Commonwealth 40 3.1. Expenditure on Education in the Northern Territory 40 3.2. Comparison, Between States, of Funding Levels for School Education 42 3.3. Sources of Funding to Aboriginal Education in the Northern Territory 42 __________________________________________________________________________________________ v Public Accounts Committee __________________________________________________________________________________________ 3.4. Cost of Education in Remote Aboriginal Communities 43 3.5. Disbursement of NT Funds 44 3.6. Disbursement of Commonwealth Funds 45 3.7. Aboriginal Education Strategic Initiatives Programs 47 3.8. Direct Grants 48 3.8.1. ABSTUDY Assistance to School Students in the Northern Territory 48 3.8.2. Problems associated with ABSTUDY 49 3.9. Grants Commission 50 3.10. Channelling all Education Funds through One Agency 50 3.11. Horizontal Fiscal Equalisation 52 3.12. Allocating Funds to Schools 52 RECOMMENDATION 18. 53 3.13. Methods of Delivery of School Education Services to Remote Communities 53 3.13.1. Option 1 : Maintain the status quo 53 3.13.2. Option 2 : Establish a separate, Remote Aboriginal Education Authority 54 3.13.3. Option 3 : Encourage self-management of schools in remote Aboriginal communities 54 3.13.4. Option 4 : Provide co-ordinated social justice services, including education, health, housing, law and economic development 56 RECOMMENDATION 19. 57 3.14. Current Lack of Co-ordination 57 RECOMMENDATION 20. 58 CHAPTER 4 60 4. TERMS OF REFERENCE (b) 60 the consultation process with Aboriginal people which aid in targeting expenditure to areas of most need 60 4.1. Literature on Consultation with Aboriginal Communities 60 4.2. Effective Communication and Consultation 60 4.3. Feppi 61 4.3.1. NT Department of Education’s Views of Feppi 62 4.3.2. Feppi’s Views of its Effectiveness 63 4.3.3. Community Perceptions of Feppi 63 4.3.4. Feppi’s Fit with Prerequisites for Effective Consultation 64 4.3.5. Composition of Feppi 64 ____________________________________________________________________________________________ vi Report on the Provision of School Education Services for Remote Aboriginal Communities in the Northern Territory __________________________________________________________________________________________ 4.4. Consultation by the Northern Territory Department of Education 65 4.4.1. Departmental Officers’ Fit with Prerequisites for Effective Consultation 65 4.4.2. Community Perceptions of Departmental Officers 65 4.5. Consultation by DEET Officers 66 4.5.1. DEET Field Officers’ Fit with Prerequisites for Effective Consultation 66 4.5.2. Community Perceptions of DEET Field Officers 66 4.6. Communities’ Views on Consultation 66 4.7. Number of Visitors to Communities 67 4.8. Committee Findings 68 4.8.1. Education Committees in Language Regions 68 4.8.2. Feppi Membership 68 4.8.3. Towards Effective Consultation 69 RECOMMENDATION 21. 69 4.9. Community Profiles 69 RECOMMENDATION 22. 70 CHAPTER 5 72 5. TERMS OF REFERENCE (c) 72 the effectiveness of the financial administration and expenditure, including an assessment of the percentage of programme funds spent on the administration of those funds 72 5.1. General Comment 72 5.2. NT Department of Education 72 5.3. Commonwealth Funding 73 5.3.1. NEPS Agreements 73 5.3.2. AESIP Agreements 73 5.4. Potential for ‘Double Dipping’ 75 5.5. Duplication of Administration 76 RECOMMENDATION 23. 76 CHAPTER 6 78 6. TERMS OF REFERENCE (d) 78 the effectiveness of the financial accountability arrangements, indicating whether expenditure was within legislative requirements and for the purposes intended 78 6.1. Introduction 78 6.2. Northern Territory Funds 78 6.2.1. Audit Committee 78 __________________________________________________________________________________________ vii Public Accounts Committee __________________________________________________________________________________________ 6.2.2. Internal Audit 79 6.3. Commonwealth SPP Funds to the NT 80 6.4. Commonwealth Direct Funding 81 RECOMMENDATION 24. 81 CHAPTER 7 83 7. TERMS OF REFERENCE (e) 83 the evaluation procedures for these programmes, including an assessment by the Committee of the effectiveness of programme evaluations by the Department of Education and the Commonwealth 83 7.1. Comment from Submissions and Witnesses 83 7.2. Evaluation of NTDE Programs 83 7.2.1. Overview of Results of MAP Tests, 1994 84 7.2.2. Participation Patterns 85 RECOMMENDATION 25. 86 7.3. Evaluation of Bilingual Programs 86 RECOMMENDATION 26. 87 7.4. Evaluation of Aboriginal Education Strategic Initiatives Programs (AESIP) 87 RECOMMENDATION 27. 89 7.5. National Equity Programs for Schools (NEPS) 90 7.6. Schools’ Views of Evaluation of Commonwealth Programs 90 RECOMMENDATION 28. 90 7.7. Commonwealth Direct Grants 90 7.8. Summary 90 CHAPTER 8 93 8. CURRENT NATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS 93 8.1. A National Approach 93 8.2. Use of New Technologies 94 RECOMMENDATION 29. 94 MINORITY REPORT 97 REFERENCE LIST 103 APPENDICES 109 APPENDIX A 111 List of Written Submissions to the Public Accounts Committee 111 ____________________________________________________________________________________________
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