That all educational institutions should reserve places for indigenous students.

C grade - Round 2

Education is often spouted as the key to improving life outcomes on both social and economic fronts. It therefore stands to reason that as part of the Federal Government’s plan to “Close the Gap” for Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander Australians, that education would play a vital role. This debate asks students to discuss the responsibility the education system, the government and the wider community have in bridging this gap and ensuring better outcomes for future generations of our indigenous populations.

However, there are many questions to be asked and answered about whether or not reserving places in all types of educational institutes is the best way to bridge this gap. Population density, regional access and student engagement are all factors to consider. Likewise policies of compulsory assimilation have been tried and failed in the past. It is important to consider why these policies have failed, and what damage have they caused to the Indigenous communities.

Currently, students either attend the government school most local to them (or one close by) or their parents pay fees for them to attend a religious/private/independent schools. This being the case, consider how these options might impact the education of Indigenous students living in remote communities, rural areas or metro areas. How does this then in turn impact their ability to move into further education or ongoing work?

Consider:

  • What is the point of education?
  • What type of educational institutions are there? Do they have different responsibilities? Who are these responsibilities to?
  • What would be the purpose, or desired outcome, of reserving places for specific types of students?
  • Who might be impacted if educational institutions reserve places for Indigenous students? Is it a positive impact or a negative impact? How could schools help these students while attending?
  • Are there institutions that already reserve places for Indigenous students? How do they do this?
  • What responsibilities do we have to Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander people in our community?
  • What historical events in Australia’s history might be relevant to this debate?What have we learnt from these events?
  • What challenges currently face Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander people in accessing education? Would this plan fix these problems? Why or why not?

Links:

ABC - Poor education is letting Indigenous children down

The Conversation – Indigenous education report misses the big picture

The Australian – Giving Indigenous children access to education should be a bipartisan priority.

Australian Bureau of Statistics –Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Education, Learning and Skills

Australian Government – Indigenous education