Batchelor Institute reeling after spate of incidents putting students in danger

Staff at the embattled Batchelor Institute say the Indigenous tertiary education provider is in ‘crisis mode’ after a spate of incidents putting students in danger.

STAFF at the embattled Batchelor Institute say the Indigenous tertiary education provider is in “crisis mode” after a spate of incidents jeopardising the health, safety and wellbeing of its students.

Internal emails and documents seen by the NT News reveal no immediate emergency action was taken or assessment made after a student – who may have been diabetic – suffered a serious medical episode in the classroom in March this year.

While one of the two staff members present at the time of the incident believed the student may have been suffering a heart attack, emergency services were not called nor was the student taken to a medical clinic.

Emails show the two staff members did not know “who to ring or what the procedure was” for an incident of this nature.

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In response, a team manager issued a directive to their team that if they are in the vicinity of a student having a medical episode in the future, they will be “required to lend assistance … purely cause it is what any decent human being would do for another”.

“It’s only a matter of time before there is a casualty,” one person who did not want to be named but was familiar with the incidents said.

In another incident that took place days earlier, administrative blunders left part of a group of 27 students travelling to Alice Springs for a week-long study trip without accommodation and meals.

Three students were moved from their accommodation at Aurora Hotel to a dorm room in a hostel after the hotel’s reception advised the students they could not stay on due to lack of availability.

One of these students did not feel safe at the hostel and left after one night. Staff organised for a mattress to be given to one student and for them to stay on the floor in a room with another student at the Charles Darwin University Alice Springs campus.

On one night of the trip, dinner had not been organised, leading a staff member to give each student $20 to sort out their own meal. The following night, one student’s vegetarian dietary requirement was not catered for.

In yet another incident which took place in the same week, two incoming interstate students were separately left stranded for hours at Darwin Airport without transport to Batchelor, located about 100km south of Darwin.

Both tried to call phone numbers provided – including a number to use if “emergency travel issues are being experienced” – to no avail. One student was eventually taken by the institute’s bus driver to a pub to wait while another group of students arrived.

Another – who had not eaten in six hours – was refused a stop at McDonald’s on the way to campus and on arriving was served food she could not eat due to her dietary requirements, which had not been captured.

A senior policy officer at Batchelor Institute concluded there was “no excuse for making a student wait for eight hours before having adequate caloric intake, when a simple solution is at hand”.

“Given the comorbidities and dietary requirements of our students, situations such as this could result in a reportable incident under [a regulatory act],” the officer found.

“Given the nature of many of our students, they do not want to make a fuss and will often not register a grievance. This means that the current systems and operations that (Batchelor Institute) have in place are not gaining the relevant information when our systems are falling short.”

Batchelor Institute Acting chief executive Gareth Allison said the institution took matters of this nature “very seriously”.

“All of these matters have been investigated and we have taken action to ensure our students have a positive learning experience while studying and training at Batchelor Institute,” Mr Allison said.

“Batchelor Institute’s highest priority is the health, safety and wellbeing of its students and staff who both make important contributions to their families and communities.”

Education Minister Lauren Moss confirmed she had been made aware of the incidents at Batchelor Institute and had “been informed that there are actions underway to ensure such scenarios are averted in the future”.

“It is crucial that students are able to learn in safe, supportive environments that are conducive to learning and wellbeing,” Ms Moss said. National Tertiary Education Union NT president Darius Pfitzner said the incidents suggested there were wide-ranging systemic issues within the institute.

“It would seem on the surface these situations would present unacceptable stress for both students and staff, brought about by a lack of training for the staff members involved and a lack of systems in place such as policy and procedure to guide staff activities,” Dr Pfitzner said.

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Originally published as Batchelor Institute reeling after spate of incidents putting students in danger