The Wire

The Australian Education Union has today lashed out at the federal government over it’s practical reconciliation approach to Indigenous education funding. According to the AEU, the changes made this year to indigenous assistance programs have resulted in a reduction of funding to schools and the isolation of many Indigenous families from school communities. The comments come on the back of a survey of 561 Australian schools which found that the changes, though less than a year old, were viewed negatively by 67% of schools surveyed. Despite the criticism, the Commonwealth government can boast a strong record in Indigenous education since taking office in 1996, with improvements in retention rates and primary level literacy and numeracy rates being strong achievements. However the AEU fears this won’t continue following the recent changes to funding and programs. Pat Byrne is the Federal President of the Australian Education Union and she spoke to Bill Birtles earlier today.