Indigenous-Education-Review_DRAFT

Review of Indigenous Education in the Northern Territory
Bruce Wilson
Appendix Three: Remote Secondary Provision Trial
(Provided by the Industry, Engagement and Employment Pathways (IEEP) team in the Department of
Education)
Secondary provision to Indigenous students in regional and remote Territory schools is characterised by
what can be described as ‘patchy’ outcomes. These outcomes emerge from the challenges of delivering
quality education in an environment of low attendance 18 . Effects of low attendance include poor literacy
and numeracy, low employability skills and Northern Territory Certificate of Education and Training
(NTCET) completions well below national benchmarks. Improving the number of students who obtain an
NTCET completion 19 is a key performance indicator to ensure every student is a successful learner 20 .
While Indigenous NTCET completions have seen an increase, they have largely been achieved in urban
and provincial areas. Remote completions remain low.
The Department of Education (DoE) has a goal of increasing the number of students who achieve paid
employment at the end of their schooling. The evolution of the Northern Territory Certificate of
Education (NTCE) into the NTCET is a result of the desire to legitimise vocational pathways within schools
and build flexible options congruent with the economic needs of the Territory. As a result of this,
students remaining at school through to year 12 will have a choice of three pathways: full academic, full
vocational and a combination of the two. The academic pathway is well understood by educators and
programs are often driven by the rules to achieve an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR). A
vocational pathway, while less understood by schools, allows a student to undertake compulsory NTCET
Stage One subjects and then fulfil the educational pattern requirements by gaining credit towards NTCET
completion with vocational and educational training (VET) programs. To achieve NTCET completion via
the vocational pathway, students would be required to undertake a Certificate III level VET program
which is deemed the equivalent of a Stage 2 subject. This presents difficulties due to the higher levels of
literacy and numeracy demanded at this certificate level resulting often in a mixture of academic and
vocational. The third pathway is a blended mixture of the academic and vocational pathways, and is the
basis of the proposal.
DRAFT
Proposal in brief
The aim of the Remote Secondary Provision trial is to improve NTCET and employment outcomes for
Indigenous students. Both are considered desirable outcomes. For many students, both aims will be
realised simultaneously. Students who gain employment and leave school prior to achieving an NTCET
are considered successful by the Department. The four schools identified for the trial are N’taria School,
Gunbalanya School, Tennant Creek High School and Katherine High School. In each school the program
will be characterised by:
a vocationally focused program preparing students for employment pathways, supported by
online resources from the Pre‐VET package in the middle years;
an employment focussed VET program;
a VET based leadership program associated with an engagement program such as Clontarf, Girls
Academies or Cadets;
18 One third of NT schools experience attendance less than 70% during Term 3 2013 (µ=76% =22%).
http://www.education.nt.gov.au/students/at‐school/enrolment‐attendance/enrolment‐attendance‐statistics
19 NT Certificate of Education and Training (NTCET) http://www.education.nt.gov.au/parentscommunity/curriculum‐ntbos/ntcet
20 Goal 2: Every student a successful learner. Creating Success Together Department of Education Strategic Plan
2013–2015
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