Regional Education

Mrs DAWN FARDELL (Dubbo) [2.16 p.m.]: The topic of my private member's statement today is education, particularly in view of the Government's proposal to increase the school leaving age. At a public forum on the school leaving age at Dubbo last month, the overwhelming view of those present was not to keep students at school longer but to tailor education to meet the needs of young people and industry. The Dubbo forum placed a particular emphasis on Aboriginal students and the alarming statistics associated with their education outcomes. One of the community's most respected elders, Pat Doolan, highlighted the fact that only 27 Aboriginal students completed the Higher School Certificate at Dubbo last year—although an increase from the past. To put that figure in perspective, on a per capita basis for Dubbo, with its population of about 35,000 non-Aboriginal and 5,000 Aboriginal residents, the percentage rates of Higher School Certificate graduates from the city's total student body was about 13 per cent for non-Aboriginal students compared with about 1.5 per cent for Aboriginal students. And, as Mrs Doolan said, "It's a figure well below the benchmark for change."

But it was not just the Koori students who were struggling with the education system; the disillusionment with the current curriculum was across the board. The rigidity of the New South Wales curriculum was seen as the major stumbling block as it discouraged students from staying at school. The view of the majority of spokespeople at the forum was that school was boring, irrelevant and inflexible. Speakers including students, parents, teachers, trainers and employers said much of what students were being taught had little relevance to their needs or that of industry. It was strongly argued that the aims of the education system should be skills-based rather than its current focus on examinations. Young people need to be taught life skills and a range of industry skills that will have them job-ready when they leave school.

Dubbo TAFE teacher and restaurant owner Mark Hawkins said he was constantly faced with the conflicting situation of having to teach Higher School Certificate students how to pass their examinations, and then having to teach them the real skills they need to work in the industry. New South Wales Land Council Central West regional councillor Steve Ryan voiced his concerns regarding the trial of a welfare management system at Walgett aimed at ensuring parents send their kids to school. He argued that restricting welfare payments to families already struggling to keep their children at school would be counterproductive. Mr Ryan said Aboriginal youth do not want to go to school because the system is too rigid and does not accommodate different learning styles and student aspirations. He said many Aboriginal parents are already struggling to encourage their children to stay at school, and that having their welfare payments quarantined would only make a difficult job even harder.

Mr Ryan called for an increase in the number of Aboriginal Education Assistants [AEAs] in schools to assist and encourage students with their work. He said many Koori youth did not see any value in certificates such as the Higher School Certificate and that they need an incentive-based system that gives them useful skills to get jobs. New South Wales Western Institute of TAFE Aboriginal development manager Rod Towney said there needed to be greater empathy for the needs of students to prepare them for the workforce. He called for an expansion of the Vocational Education and Training [VET] system to meet the needs of students and employers.

Another issue highlighted at the forum was the lack of public transport in rural and regional New South Wales and the restrictions that placed on young school leavers. Transport of any kind in rural and regional areas is a major issue, be it public or private. Public transport in these areas is virtually non-existent and private transport is beyond the capacity of most students or school leavers. The lack of public transport and the high cost of fuel is a major impediment to young people in rural and remote areas trying to access TAFE and other learning institutions. For example, welding students at Forbes have to travel to Orange to attend classes. That involves a return trip of about 250 kilometres, which becomes an expensive exercise with today's fuel prices.

This leads back to the argument for vocational training in the high schools. The overwhelming view of speakers at the Dubbo forum called for changes to the curriculum rather than an increase in the leaving age. The leaving age was irrelevant if students continued to leave school ill equipped for the workforce. Increasing the leaving age will only further antagonise those already forced to learn subjects they see as irrelevant. In summary, the major stakeholders in education—the students—need a system that caters to the needs of the twenty-first century, not the archaic remnants of a British administration.

The plight of Aboriginal Australians in rural and regional communities is a matter so serious that if the decline in their education continues they will without doubt secure their position as the nation's permanent underclass. An example of the dire position Aboriginal children face in Dubbo was highlighted with a report on absenteeism in schools in 2005. West Dubbo Public School has the highest enrolments of Aboriginal students in the State. It has about 500 students in total and about 60 per cent of them are Aboriginal. In 2005 the school recorded 10,000 absenteeism days. Some kids attended school for fewer than 20 days in the entire year. Those figures have improved marginally in the past two years, but other factors have influenced the change.

The relocation of residents from the Gordon Estate has seen a number of families move back to the river towns of Bourke, Brewarrina, Walgett and Wilcannia. Other families have moved to different parts of the city and their children are enrolled in other schools. It is not only the Koori youth who are disengaged from school. A large block of non-Aboriginal youth see little value in the current education system. Raising the leaving the age is not a solution. The system needs a major overhaul to make it interesting and relevant to our youth. Good teachers can make a difference, but having the ability to teach interesting subjects and skills that will result in jobs will make the real difference our students need.