Urgent call to support education of Indigenous boarding students

Independent Schools Australia has warned students enrolled at indigenous boarding schools could be locked out of the classroom if the government doesn’t stump up funding omitted in the last budget.

Annyesha Pamtoonda, Hilary Watt, Tiana Marbendinar and Wenonah Miskin made the big step moving from their home town Arunkun to get a better education and board at Djarragun College in Far North Queensland. Picture: File photo

Independent Schools Australia has warned students enrolled at Indigenous boarding facilities may not have access to an education if the government doesn’t stump up funding omitted in the last budget.

Independent schools dependent on significant government investment and are considered to play a critical role in Closing the Gap by educating children from remote Cape York communities and the Torres Strait Islands.

In Cairns, Djarragun College is the only Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander boarding school in the North Queensland independent schools sector.

The Bruce Highway near Gordonvale, south of Cairns, is undergoing a mufti million dollar upgrade from the federal government. PICTURE: BRENDAN RADKE

But three other independent schools also receive federal grants.

It’s feared without funding, schools could be forced to freeze new students enrolments or may be forced to shut their boarding houses altogether.

The worst case scenario would mean schools would be forced to close.

Independent Schools chief executive Graham Catt said the government had previously announced a Boarding Design Review to explore future funding mechanisms, but no outcomes have been publicly released, which left schools in a precarious situation.

“Funding to these schools expires at the end of this year, and there have been no outcomes announced from this review,” he said.

“To still have no certainty of next year’s funding in September is doing a grave injustice to these schools, their staff, and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students relying on them for an education.”

Graham Catt is the Independent Schools Association CEO.

In 2023, the federal budget allocated $21.6m to the National ­Indigenous Australians Agency’s Indigenous Boarding Providers Grant program, however the program was discontinued in the 2024-25 budget.

Djarragun College financial records reveal the school received $14.5m in the 2023/24 financial year made up of federal and state funding, which equated to 80 per cent of the institution’s total revenue.

The average cost per boarder for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander boarding providers in 2017 was $18,697, according to a 2021/22 pre-budget submission advocating for additional resourcing.

Schools are unable to charge fees for Indigenous students from remote communities as their families have no capacity to pay, meaning the sector is reliant on government funding.

A spokesman for Education Minister Jason Clare said he had met with Independent Schools Australia on the issue.

“The government will consider the findings of the First Nations Boarding Design Review and respond as soon as possible,” the spokesman said.

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Originally published as Urgent call to support education of Indigenous boarding students