ࡱ> HJG%` :!bjbjNN 42,,Z   2228j$D$#######$%hZ(###d##rWTW 71n2 (#$0D$*)3*)W*)WX##@D$D22 Statement Item 3, Study on the right to education, 11 August 2009 Thank you Madame Chair. The following comments are provided on behalf of the 鱨վ. Each year, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner prepares a report to the Australian Parliament on the human rights challenges facing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The report is called the Social Justice Report and the latest report focuses on the challenges in the delivery of education to Indigenous peoples living in remote areas of Australia. The Commission supplied an extensive submission to the Expert Mechanism on the right to education earlier this year. I will not comment on the matters covered in that submission. Instead, I intend to provide some specific comments about matters that I believe should be included in the study on education by the Expert Mechanism. These are matters that are not adequately covered in the draft report as circulated at this session. Madam Chair, let me first provide some context. There are some disturbing facts about education delivery to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in Australia. When we look at remote areas of Australia, Indigenous students make up the vast majority of the school populations. The schools they attend are not considered, and often not funded, in the same way as mainstream schools in urban locations. The Indigenous students in these remote schools often experience significant educational disadvantage through lack of service delivery, and as a consequence, their English literacy and numeracy skills are at lower levels than other Australian students. Unfortunately, we dont have regular or accurate information that identifies the level of access to education in regions of Australia. There is no data collected which matches the population of school-aged Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students against existing preschool, primary and secondary school services in Australia. While we dont have good estimates on the numbers of school-aged Indigenous children and young people who have no access to school education we do know that if all school-aged students were to attend, the education system in remote Australia would collapse. There are simply not the facilities and infrastructure to meet the demand. This lack of data is a serious omission. It is essential information for governments to plan their expenditure in education and also for Indigenous communities to support their own development needs. We dont have accurate data telling us who is missing out. Madam Chair, this contributes to a lack of accountability for Australian governments in meeting the right to education for Indigenous peoples. There are no benchmarks or targets which show that there is a plan of action in place to ensure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children have equal access to services as other Australians. This is a significant contributor to inter-generational poverty for our communities in remote areas. Some of the key factors that the 鱨վ has identified in the latest Social Justice Report as essential components of an equitable system of education for Indigenous peoples include: Involvement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People in Educational Decision-Making this is something that does not occur in a systemic or structured basis in Australia at present; Equality of Access to Education Services; Quality teachers including through nurturing and supporting the development of an Indigenous workforce; A focus on creating a culture of acceptance of the importance of education this needs to be created by creating partnerships between Indigenous people, families and communities, and educators and schools; it also requires schooling opportunities that begin in the pre-schooling years and which provide quality options for early childhood education. Madam Chair, we recommend that the following factors be incorporated into the study on the right to education: Recognition of the importance of data collection. This is essential to policy development and for accountability purposes. Governments cannot meet their obligations to progressively realise the enjoyment of the right to education for our communities if there is insufficient information to establish what the level of need is, and the extent to which Indigenous peoples are treated inequitably within education systems. Recognition of the importance of ensuring equitable provision of education services to Indigenous peoples including those living in rural and remote areas in States. It is unacceptable for governments to fail to provide adequate levels of service delivery to Indigenous peoples alone. The situation as exists in remote areas of Australia would not be tolerated in urban areas of Australia or by non-Indigenous Australians. Recommending that States ensure accountability frameworks for meeting the right to education for Indigenous peoples, including through the development of monitoring and assessment processes that include performance measures, targets and timeframes. This should include reporting on: The provision of education infrastructure at the preschool, primary and secondary school levels; Mapping of this infrastructure according to demographic statistics to ensure that it is adequate in scope to ensure actual services for all children of school age; The development of strategies to develop a suitably qualified workforce to deliver education, including by supporting career pathways for Indigenous educators. Recommending that there be a focus among governments and educators on developing partnerships with Indigenous communities to ensure that educational options, including schooling, is culturally appropriate and accessible to Indigenous communities. Finally, Madam Chair, that the study place greater emphasis on the need to ensure that there is a major focus on early childhood education for our children. So often this is where our children fall behind. By the time they reach formal schooling they are already too far behind to actively participate and benefit from schooling. Thank you Madam Chair.  The report is available online at:  HYPERLINK "http://www.humanrights.gov.au/social_justice/sj_report/sjreport08/chap3.html" http://www.humanrights.gov.au/social_justice/sj_report/sjreport08/chap3.html.     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