Most NT students still expected to attend term 2 ‘in person’ says Minister Uibo

NT Education Minister Selena Uibo says majority of students in the Territory will still be expected to attend school in person in term two, despite other states moving to mostly learning online

Education Minister Selena Uibo gives an update regarding schools in the Northern Territory. Picture: Che Chorley

THE majority of NT students will still be expected to attend school in person in term two, despite other states moving to mostly learning online.

Education Minister Selena Uibo said at this point in time, it is expected students in the Territory will continue to attend school in person during term two.

It comes as Victoria moves to have the majority of its students learning from home when the state’s schools resume next week.

“Teachers and principals have been using their four professional development days this week to work through more flexible arrangements for learning as may be required based on health advice,” Ms Uibo said.

Australia’s education ministers met on Tuesday to devise a national framework for the next six months.

Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan said: “For the majority of children it will be online learning for term two.”

But Minister Uibo said while learning resources would be available online for NT students next term, the majority of students were still expected to attend class in person at this stage.

Printed learning resources will be available for students without access to computers or the internet.

Later this week, the education ministers will meet again to discuss the thorny issue of what to do with year 12 students who will miss out on months of face-to-face teaching.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said there was no international medical data suggesting a big risk to children by sending them to school.

The most pressing concern is for teachers and staff.

Mr Morrison said health advice around schools was driven by occupational health and safety.

Mr Tehan says all options are on the table for final year students. Year 12 exams are expected to be postponed until at least December and universities will likely be asked to delay the start of the 2021 academic year.

But Mr Tehan effectively ruled out an extra year of school for Year 12 students.

“Every state and territory education minister – and it’s my strong view as well – do not want to see that,” he said.

“We want to make sure that we can get as many students through this year as we possibly can.”

Mr Tehan’s personal preference is adjusting ATAR scores across the country to account for COVID-19 or changing the university assessment system.

Universities have already started talking to schools about how to make sure there is a clear pathway for 2020 school leavers.

Universities already use a range of techniques such as interviews, recommendations from schools, and assessing a student’s academic record across the whole of year 11 and 12 to decide if they are suited to a particular course.