NT public schools underfunded by $8k per student, contributing to youth crime

NT schools are underfunded by almost $8k per student, and one education leader believes there is a link between schools’ lack of resources and youth crime.

Each public school student’s education is underfunded by almost $8000 and a renowned economist expects the problem to deepen further.

A report commissioned by the Australian Education Union found NT public schools were currently funded at 77 per cent of the Schooling Resource Standard set out by the federal, state and territory governments.

The report revealed each public school student in the NT could be underfunded by as much as $10,015 by 2028.

AEU NT branch president Michelle Ayres said it was true NT schools were more expensive to run than schools in other states, but the funding needed to “plug” the SRS gap was “a drop in the federal bucket”.

“For the amount of money this costs, we should be setting the standard for Closing The Gap in the Territory,” she said.

“At the moment, what we seem to be doing is setting the standard for widening the gap, because the majority of this disadvantage is actually felt by our bush schools.”

Ms Ayres said funding was currently delivered based on enrolment and attendance but it was ineffective.

She said the greater a student’s need, the less likely they were to attend school.

“If a child disengages from school for whatever reason, it actually takes more resourcing to re-engage them in school, and what we’ve seen is attendance drop away,” Ms Ayres said.

“I strongly believe that it has contributed to things like the rising crime in the Territory, to not be able to adequately address things when children are in the initial stages of education.

“That is where we could actually see real change, if we are able to provide quality education.”

Education Minister Eva Lawler said the cost of delivering a fully resourced education in the NT was “only going to increase”.

“We need the Federal government to invest more into NT Education, just like our government does, in order reach 100 per cent funding across our schools,” Ms Lawler said.

Likewise, the AEU report has called for “additional commonwealth support for the Northern Territory to reach 100 per cent SRS”.

Around 50+ AEU members have come together to deliver over 70,000 postcards to the Prime Minister calling for greater funding for public schools. Picture: Dallas Killponen

It comes three months after the union launched its For Every Child campaign, which revealed one in five NT students were not financially supported by the federal government.

The campaign has culminated in an education “roadtrip”, with union teams driving across the country to collect and deliver thousands of postcards to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

The postcards – sent by principals, teachers, parents, and community members – demand public schools be funded to the minimum standard set out by the SRS.

Ms Ayres said the postcards would be delivered in person on Monday.