The new federal government is beginning work on delivering its promise to reduce the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous levels of literacy and numeracy, starting by addressing the issue of children's non-attendance of schools in the Northern Territory.

Increasing number of teachers in remote NT

The new federal Education Minister, Julia Gillard, has put forward legislation to provide funding for the placement of an additional 50 teachers in remote areas of the Northern Territory in 2008, and up to 200 over the next four years. The intended plan will cost $7.16 million in its first year and up to $56.8 million in the future.

Gillard said the plan responded to the numbers of Indigenous children not attending school for a substantial period of time, or at all. She said, of the 10,000 school-aged children in communities affected by the 2007 Northern Territory emergency response, 2000 were not at school and a further 2500 didn't stay at school long enough to benefit.

Closing the gap

Federal Education Minister Julia Gillard said that the increased funding for teacher placement in the Northern Territory was part of the new federal government's plan to halve the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous levels of literacy and numeracy, over the next ten years:

'This measure reflects the government's commitment to ensuring that Indigenous students, wherever they live, have access to educational opportunities that are equivalent to their non-Indigenous peers.'

Read The Australian's 'Gillard moves to help indigenous kids'.

Further reading

View these related items on the Early Childhood Australia website:

• February 2008 - PM Kevin Rudd says 'sorry' to the Stolen Generations
• Media release: Early Childhood Australia commends PM's decision to apologise
• August 2007 - Government intervention in Indigenous communities – responses continue
• July 2007 - NT Update from SNAICC
• June 2007 - Report on child abuse in NT Indigenous communities
• May 2007 - Reconciliation begins with Australia's children
• April 2007 - New research into life expectancy of Indigenous Australians
• August 2006 - Extra funding for Indigenous early childhood education

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