Education NT: Low attendance, retention in Territory schools

Early childhood, school and vocational education have all been reviewed in data by the Productivity Commission. SEE HOW THE TERRITORY PERFORMED.

THE Territory’s schools have been ranked against the rest of the country, with mixed results across the cohorts.

See some of the main indicators of our performance.

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE

THE Territory’s children are experiencing the lowest participation rate in Government-run childcare services, despite an all-time high expenditure.

Just 23.5 per cent of 0-12 year olds were attending Australian Government childcare-subsidy approved child care services.

This number is up from 2019, but the lowest comparatively to other jurisdictions in the country.

A Department of Education spokeswoman said 30 per cent of the NT’s population live in areas with no CCS-approved services.

“The vast majority of the Northern Territory’s Australian Government childcare subsidy (CCS) approved services are located with the major population centres of Darwin, Palmerston, Alice Springs, and Katherine.”

They said their priority was increasing access to three-year-old childcare

“This includes exploring alternative models for the delivery of the two years of quality early learning through schools as well as focusing on the benefit for vulnerable children and families.”

Meanwhile, government expenditure per child remains the highest in the country, with $10,387 spent on each child’s early childhood education and care.

“The expenditure includes the cost incurred by the Northern Territory Government to deliver free preschool through government schools, as well as other early childhood programs such as FaFT. It also provides subsidies and grants to the early childhood sector,” the department spokeswoman said.

“The figure reflects the significant cost of delivering services in the Northern Territory, especially in our remote localities.”

The figure is up from $9729 in 2018-19 and the national average was $7180 in 2019-20.

SCHOOL EDUCATION

THE Northern Territory has produced the lowest student attendance and retention rates in the country in the latest Productivity Commission.

Students living in remote and very remote areas of the Northern Territory had the lowest attendance rate of remote students in the country.

The Territory also had the highest attendance rate difference in the country between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students in years 1 to 10.

The Education Department said given the unique context in which NT schools operate, different results for the Territory’s students are expected.

“The Territory has 40.8 per cent of students enrolled in remote and very remote schools, compared to 1.8 per cent nationally,” said an Education Department spokeswoman.

Initiatives to improve low rates of attendance and engagement include school based engagement officers.

“These roles develop close relationships with students and their families to support regular attendance at school,” she said.

“The department maintains close partnerships with other NT Government agencies to identify students who are not enrolled and to support their re-engagement back into education, training and employment pathways.”

Australian Education Union NT branch secretary Adam Lampe said greater resources for schools in remote and Indigenous communities is needed to improve attendance rates.

“The fact of the matter is if you’re going to maintain these community schools, they need to be properly resourced,” he said.

“For our side of things, you need to provide incentives for people to work in those particular places.”

“We would say that there isn’t enough to really attract people to those particularly difficult, remote localities for any length of time.”

While the Territory had the lowest retention rates for full time students in Australia, retention has been increasing since 2019.

In 2020 the apparent retention rate for full time secondary students in all NT schools from year 7 to 10 saw a 2.4 per cent to 86.6 per cent.

The apparent retention rate for year 7 to 10 Aboriginal students also increased to 79.4 per cent in 2020.

“We are seeking to address barriers raised by the school or system that may prevent a child from engaging in learning,” said the Education Department spokeswoman.

“Creating strong partnerships between schools and communities, will help us make positive changes that last.”

The report did show a gap between students who stay until year 10 and those who go on to year 12 to complete their full high school education.

Compared to 86.6 per cent of full time year 7 students completing year 10, only 57.8 per cent went on to year 12.

The retention rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students was even lower, with just 36.2 per cent of year 7 students going on to complete year 12.

“It’s very difficult to try and resource these schools,” said Mr Lampe.

“You don’t have enough students to get a teacher out there with the expertise in those specific subject areas.”

VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING

TERRITORIANS aged 25 and older are continuing to upskill, with the proportion of people with qualifications of certificate three or above rising year-on-year.

According to data from the latest Productivity Commission release, every age group, except 35-39 and 50-54, recorded an increase in the amount of people with vocational training.

The biggest jump was in those aged 40-44, which climbed from 61.4 per cent in 2019 to 75.3 cent in 2020.

Overall in 2020, 65.4 per cent of the NT population of 20-64 years had attained a qualification of Certificate three or above.

The national figure was 63.7 per cent.

Data provided by Charles Darwin University showed about one in 26 people in the NT studied a Cert Three or above at the Darwin-based institution.

“Enrolments in VET and Cert three courses continue to grow, with hundreds of Territorians taking the opportunity to develop skills for the jobs that keep the Territory thriving,” Vice-Chancellor Professor Scott Bowman said.