Truancy Fines in The North, Post
Truancy Fines in The North
Maningrida is in the news. The Maningrida Aboriginal community, 500km east of Darwin, along the coast, is up in arms about Truancy Fines for parents who do not get their children into school.
The fine is about $AU350. It’s double that figure in Queensland! About 250 compliance notices were recently issued. A compliance notice serves as a warning to the parents or guardian. By failing to get their child into school they are breaking the law and could be fined.
School attendance has dropped in Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia too. But it is worst in the Northern Territory. “Remote Aboriginal Communities” across the North show school attendance at around 30%.
Maningrida leaders complain that they were not consulted before the Truancy Fines were issued. They argue that the funding model is the reason children are truant.
The funding model in the Schools in the Northern Territory is called “effective funding”. Introduced in 2017, this model means schools are funded based on the number of children attending school, not the number enrolled.
Yet, the funding in the states IS based on the students enrolled. As stated above, their attendance has also dropped. This proves there is no correlation between truancy and the funding model in Maningrida and across the Territory.
There are other reasons put forward to account for truancy:
- Not enough classroom aides and teachers from First Nations community.
- No employment on Remote Communities so what’s the point of education!
It is time to do something about it! The government has acted. A fine may help parents to see school attendance differently. Suddenly, it will become important if their pocket hurts. Then there will be Aboriginal classroom aides, teachers, nurses, IT managers, Art Centre Managers, and educated community leaders. First Nations entrepreneurs will appear to create employment.
Parents and guardians need to get their children into school every day. Truancy Fines will help to achieve that.
Link to ABC news item: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-14/nt-school-attendance-funding-effective-enrolment/102215672
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