FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MUST TAKE ACTION TO STEM DECLINE IN INDIGENOUS STUDENTS ATTENDING UNI
December 6 2005
The Federal Government needs to take urgent action to stem the continuing decline of Indigenous students in our public university system, including adopting a new Indigenous specific student income support scheme, the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) said in a submission to the 2006/7 Budget, released on Tuesday.
“The Union’s submission presents evidence which demonstrates that Indigenous students are not only seriously under-represented in our public university system, but that the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous student participation is widening,” said Joel Wright, NTEU Indigenous Officer.
“In 2004, the number of Indigenous students attending university declined by over double the amount of other domestic students, with Indigenous students making up just 1.2% of the total domestic student population.”
“Even more concerning for the long-term goal of increasing Indigenous participation in higher education, is that in 2004 there was a 6% decline in commencing Indigenous students, compared to a 2.2% decline in overall domestic commencing students,” said Mr Wright.
“NTEU believes that ABSTUDY, the current Indigenous student income support scheme, does not recognise the severe social and economic disadvantage of Indigenous higher education students. In addition, changes made to the scheme over the last 10 years have resulted in ABSTUDY being mainstreamed with other student income support schemes, which has led to a decline in the number of students able to access the scheme and in the overall participation rates of Indigenous Australians in higher education.”
“The Union recommends that a new and more streamlined Indigenous specific student income support scheme that is culturally and economically relevant to Indigenous students be developed and that this be done in conjunction with the Government’s Indigenous Higher Education Advisory Council,” said Mr Wright.
The submission’s other major recommendations include:
- Setting a base level of student income support that is made available to all Indigenous students attending university and which is tied to a percentage of average male weekly earnings, rather than to welfare provisions.
- That the new scheme attempt to better support Indigenous students through alternative entry pathways to higher education and provide improved travel allowances for Indigenous students forced to travel long distances to attend university.
“NTEU believes that the provision of appropriate levels of student income support, coupled with appropriate curriculum development and delivery methods, can act as a support and an incentive for Indigenous students to participate and succeed in further education, with long-term economic and social benefits that far out weigh the costs of implementing the scheme”.
“NTEU is ready to work with both the Federal Government and the Indigenous Higher Education Advisory Council to improve outcomes for Indigenous students, and believes that a first step must be to provide the appropriate level of support required for Indigenous students to access and sustain their participation in higher education”.
The Union’s submission to the 2006/7 Federal Budget is available here
For Further Information and Comment Contact:
NTEU Indigenous Officer Joel Wright: 0408 525 492 or (03) 9254 1910