Education future looking up for students in Arnhem Land

The Yothu Yindi Foundation is hailing the development of a new remote, cross cultural school it says will be a ‘game changer’ for local Aboriginal students.

• Garma festival forced to cancel after Covid safety plan rejected by CHO

THE Yothu Yindi Foundation is hailing the development of a new cross cultural school in northeast Arnhem Land it says will be a “game changer” for local Aboriginal students.

The 7-12 school will combine local Yolngu learning with the broader Australian curriculum in partnership with Studio Schools Australia and with funding from the Commonwealth Government.

Yothu Yindi Foundation chief executive Denise Bowden said the Dhupuma — meaning “looking up and ahead” — Studio School would provide the sort of well rounded education that was “essential for the next generation to reach their potential”.

Yothu Yindi Foundation chief executive Denise Bowden. Picture: Supplied/Melanie Faith Dove

“We know from experience that education works best when its driven by the local community,” she said.

“Our community here in northeast Arnhem Land wants to draw on the rich treasure trove of Yolngu culture to deliver a unique curriculum with a strength-based approach to learning.

“Working hand-in-hand with local families, the Dhupuma Studio School will open up further educational pathways for Yolngu youth, creating generational change in Indigenous academic excellence and ultimately leading to better employment opportunities down the track.”

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The announcement follows the successful opening of the Dhupuma Barker junior school for K-6 students in Gunyangara earlier this year, with plans also already in place for “a new tertiary facility that will complete the education life cycle”.

Ms Bowden said the new senior school was a substantial link in the foundation’s broader vision for a regional education hub in northeast Arnhem Land, a long-held ambition stretching back 25 years.

“The early signs we’re seeing from the Dhupuma Barker junior school are really encouraging, so we’re delighted that the Commonwealth is now funding this next stage of the education journey,” she said.

Ms Bowden said the vision for a regional education hub had been inspired by the success of the old Dhupuma College, a transitional and residential school for Yolngu students which closed in 1980 and which counts many of today’s community leaders among its alumni.

The positive news comes after the Yothu Yindi Foundation was forced to cancel its flagship Garma Festival, which was due to be held last month, as a result of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

In a statement released at the time, the foundation said the remote location of the festival posed “too many logistical and safety challenges in the unlikely event of a Covid incident”.

“It is with enormous regret and sadness that we advise this year’s Garma Festival will not proceed,” the statement read.

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