Indigenous Higher Education Gutted by Howard and Kemp
12 April 2001
Participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in higher education has declined to pre-1996 levels as a result of changes to ABSTUDY, according to the DETYA figures.
NTEU National President, Dr. Carolyn Allport, labelled the record of the Coalition Government an abject failure and a disgrace, characterised by vilification and marginalisation under the guise of \"accountability and equality\".
\"The data shows that between 1999 and 2000, the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people commencing higher education fell by 15.2%, while total Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student numbers fell by 8.1%. There are now less Indigenous Australians in higher education than there were in 1997, and commencements are now below 1995 levels. These abysmal figures stem directly from changes to ABSTUDY introduced by the Coalition Government which came into effect in January 2000.\" Dr. Allport said.
\"Indigenous students now comprise only 1.23% of non-overseas students: the lowest percentage since 1996. The reduction in ABSTUDY benefits inflicted by the Coalition saved an estimated $19.53 million per annum, but have inflicted a much greater expense on Indigenous Australians and the community generally. We all stand to lose if Indigenous participation in higher education is allowed to wither as a result of an ideologically driven backlash against Indigenous programs.\" Dr Allport continued.
The NTEU argued that to restore ABSTUDY benefits to pre-2000 levels would require an estimated outlay of $19.53 million per annum.
\"In October last year, we warned that the growth in Indigenous participation in higher education had slowed to the point that it was likely to stop. In our submission to the Coalition Government on the 2001-2001 Budget, we argued for an increase in ABSTUDY expenditure. In light of this new data, the Government simply cannot afford to continue to ignore calls to clean up the mess they have made of Indigenous Education.\"
Dr Allport said that the Union had obtained the statistics from the DETYA website, but that the Government had made no announcement about the data.
\"For the last few years we have heard Dr David Kemp boasting about the successes of his policies in Indigenous Education. Usually the release of student statistics is accompanied by great fanfare, but on this occasion the data appeared unannounced on the DETYA Website on Tuesday. This data should be a major source of embarrassment to Dr. Kemp and the Coalition. The only way for the Government to respond to this data is to immediately restore ABSTUDY benefits to 1999 levels.\" Dr Allport concluded.
The National Tertiary Education Union Indigenous Members\' Forum will meet on April 21 & 22, and will consider further measures aimed at redressing declining Indigenous participation in higher education.