Private boarding school vs public school education for Indigenous students

The mere mention of the term “private school education” elicits thoughts of elitism confirmed in part by the discernible grand structure, usually white or aged granite chapels, signifying the religious bias of the institution, sitting snugly on the highest and most expensive real estate in the city.

But it is within the confines of this very staid environment that prominent Indigenous leader Noel Pearson believes will be found the keys to unshackle the social burden of our youth that will provide educational opportunities and will lead them and their communities to a brighter and more prosperous future.

It is regrettable that neglect by decades of Indigenous leadership and government bureaucracy has allowed the innocence of our youth to become seriously scarred from witnessing extremes of social disorder in their communities. And it shows no signs of abating. The consequent feeling of hopelessness combined with a high level of daily anxiety has impacted significantly in the abysmal educational outcomes of school-age children living in Cape York communities and many other Indigenous communities throughout the country.

Noel Pearson’s blueprint

Noel Pearson advocates sending Indigenous high school students away from their communities to attend boarding school in the cities as a means of addressing chronic academic under-achievement. Pearson told The Weekend Australian (October 30, 2004) that Aboriginal youth had no chance in life unless they attend “high-quality, high-expectation boarding schools down south”.

Ronald Wilson, the former High Court judge, human rights commissioner and co-author of the Bringing Them Home report, warned that any scheme should not be based on compulsion. "Education is fundamental to advancement and achievement but there must be safeguards," he said. Sir Ronald told The Weekend Australian it was vital that such a scheme be voluntary and led by Indigenous people.

The Queensland government briefing paper - prepared for the Council of Australian Governments in May - said that from 1997-2004 only 6 per cent of Cape York students completed Year 12.

So are these extravagant learning centres - especially those talked about disapprovingly by Mark Latham -  and located at the smarter end of town, the answer to addressing the current Indigenous leadership vacuum that exists nationally? What has alarmed Noel Pearson into looking south of the tropic of Capricorn to the finest private schools as a potential saviour for our youth?

Indigenous Education Statistics

The 1994 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Survey demonstrated the lack of secondary and tertiary qualifications impacts negatively on an Indigenous person's ability to obtain ongoing, gainful employment. The Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research (CAEPR) also notes that if Indigenous Australians do not “keep up” with the rest of the Australian population in educational attainment this will result in Indigenous Australians being less competitive in the labour market and increase the risk of continuing the cycle of severe poverty and disadvantage.

The CAEPR report shows that 39.5 per cent of non-Indigenous Australians had completed Year 12 or equivalent compared with 16.8 per cent of Indigenous Australians. Further, 1 per cent of non-Indigenous Australians reported that they did not go to school compared with 3 per cent of Indigenous Australians.

The retention rate for Indigenous students fell from nearly 90 per cent in year 10 to 67 per cent in year 11. By comparison, the rate for non-Indigenous students falls less dramatically from year 10 to year 11 from nearly 99 per cent to 90 per cent.

There has been an increase in Year 12 retention rates for Indigenous students from 1997 to 2001 from 32 per cent to 36 per cent respectively. These rates remain substantially lower than the rates for non-Indigenous students.

Census data for 2001 identifies people aged over 15 years who were attending a technical or further educational institution (such as a TAFE college) or a university or other higher educational institution. The ABS has reported that Indigenous people participate at a similar rate to non-Indigenous people in post-secondary education, although this varies across age groups, type of institution attended and across geographic regions.

Indigenous people were more likely to attend a TAFE and less likely to be attending university with 5 per cent of all Indigenous people aged over 15 years attending TAFE in 2001, compared with 3 per cent of the non-Indigenous population. However, when this figure is restricted to people aged 15-17 years and excludes people still attending school, 14 per cent of Indigenous people were attending TAFE compared with 22 per cent of non-Indigenous people of the same age. Attendance rates at TAFE for Indigenous students aged 18-24 years were also lower than for non-Indigenous students (8 per cent and 11 per cent respectively).

Indigenous people aged 15 years and over were less likely than non-Indigenous people of the same age groups to attend university (three compared with five per cent). For Indigenous peoples aged 18-24 years, this rate is significantly lower than for non-Indigenous people (5 and 23 per cent respectively).

Fred Hollows Foundation Report

Beswick, an Indigenous community four hours drive from Darwin, has the unenviable record of not having a single child reach the national literacy benchmarks for Years 3 and 5 in 2002. Peter Holt from the Fred Hollows Foundation, speaking on ABC Radio, said the statistic is one of the findings of a report commissioned by his Foundation.

The report produced evidence that low literacy is one of the biggest hurdles when it comes to improving the health of those living in the community. With appalling statistics such as these, an indictment on all levels of government, it is little wonder that decisions are often made by Indigenous leaders with a total reliance on their educated non-Indigenous advisors.

What do you think would happen if a primary school in your town or suburb recorded an identical result as Beswick where no child passed the national benchmarks for Years 3 and 5?

An Indigenous political perspective

Indigenous Senator Aiden Ridgeway, speaking to The Australian, said that, “Unless we deal with the environment in the communities, any good that is being done through boarding schools will be undone very quickly”. Senator Ridgeway qualified himself by adding, “Some Indigenous boarders avoid returning home to their communities because of the alcoholism and substance abuse”.

I acknowledge what Senator Ridgeway says but I am mindful of the predicament of under-achieving students at secondary schools in Cape York and would need to be guided by experienced campaigners like Pearson who are intimate with their circumstances. However I would be comforted if a majority response came from Cape York students and their parents, in a public show of support, to the Pearson blueprint.

Would I send my children to boarding school?

As a former boarder at Marist Brothers College, Ashgrove, and a former on-field opponent to Pearson’s brother Gerhardt, who represented St. Peter’s Lutheran College 1st XV rugby team, I consider the advantages far outweighed the disadvantages of travelling vast distances in pursuit of a better standard of education.

However my circumstances were different in that the public school in my home town of Cunnamulla didn’t extend past Year 10. It was a matter of boarding at another town or concluding my education.

It helped that I was a good sportsman at the time as I wouldn’t have found much solace in the company of members of the debating team. I was also one of the first Indigenous boys at my boarding school: a predicament most Indigenous students my age found themselves in at their private schools.

Today’s society is more aware of the needs and aspirations of our people and boarding school administrators have now had years of experience at sorting through difficult cultural issues that arise with their Indigenous students. The barriers broken by my generation, and others older than me, have made entry to and participation in the school’s educational, sporting and social environment much easier and equitable for Indigenous students today.

I remember as a boarder many students inviting me to their homes for holidays with the proviso that I say I was of Indian or Fijian descent. Needless to say I never graced the inside of any of my fellow classmates’ imposing residences.

I was also conscious of the dearth of Indigenous female students at boarding schools around Brisbane, which became more apparent when I visited a “sister” girls’ school for an interschool dance. Sure there was a mélange of Asian and Pacific Islander students but I would like to have enjoyed passing the three hours or more at the dance in the company of at least one or two girls of my race.

However there were a lot of positives to boarding school as I enjoyed the lifestyle. But most of all I was appreciative of the high standard of education provided by the teaching personnel which seemed better than my previous school: “You get what you pay for”.

I was never a scholar but the habits I picked up have helped me throughout my career as a public servant, diplomat, businessman and now an academic. The contacts I’ve nurtured from boarding school have also assisted me in my business dealings. Most of the students in my years at boarding school occupy a range of white collar careers and I believe their chance encounter with me also assisted them in gaining a better perspective on my culture.

My son is enrolled as a day student at a private secondary school next year; a choice made collectively by my wife and son on which school best suited his needs. Discipline and excellence in education was at the top of our criteria list and this reputable school met those requirements with ease. For instance I asked the principal at our first meeting what he would do if my child reported an incident of racism or bullying. He replied he wouldn’t tolerate either act and would issue the perpetrator and his parents their first and only warning.

Would I send my son away to boarding school in another town? I proffer a definite no to that question as it would break my heart to have him live apart from us. I would profoundly miss his hugs and kisses and his emergent need for independence. It was hard enough allowing him to have a lock for his bedroom door “to keep his sister out”, although I won the battle over the location of our Internet line.

I haven’t attempted to gauge the views on how much the loss would be felt by his mother and sister. The question alone would be met with disdain from the females of the house. However if I lived in a remote community, where the schooling was unacceptable, I would consider, in consultation with the family, sending him to boarding school as an option.

When assessing the merits or otherwise of Noel Pearson’s education blueprint, devised under exceptional circumstances, I draw doubters to a famous quote from the Greek philosopher, Aristotle (384-322 BC) “The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet”.