MEDIA RELEASE
To coincide with National Literacy
and Numeracy Week: 31 August - 6 September
CLOSE READING AND MATHS GAP FOR INDIGENOUS KIDS
Celebrating National Literacy and Numeracy Week this week, Save the Children Australia believes greater access
to pre-school learning programs
and more qualified school teachers are among the measures that will help
Indigenous children boost their literacy and numeracy skills.
“Significantly less indigenous students compared to non-Indigenous students in all year levels achieve the national
minimum standards for reading, writing and numeracy in 2008,” said Suzanne Dvorak, Chief Executive of Save
the Children Australia. “In particular,
school children in remote areas face even greater difficulties reaching the
minimum education standards.”
A 2008 report by the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs found that:
Only 79% of Indigenous students living in metropolitan areas achieved the minimum standard in Year 3
reading – more than 13% less than non-Indigenous students (92%).
This literacy gap widened significantly for Indigenous students living in remote and very remote areas, with
only 54% and 30% respectively achieving the minimum reading standard for Year 3.
Indigenous students living in metropolitan
areas were 9% less likely than non-Indigenous students to
achieve the minimum standard in Year 3 numeracy (86% and 95% respectively).
Minimum numeracy standards for all Indigenous students fell by the time they reached Year 9. This was
more pronounced for Indigenous students in remote and very remote areas (60% and 38% respectively,
compared with 79% for Indigenous students living in metropolitan areas).
“Save the Children Australia commends the agreement reached by the Council of
Australian Governments
(COAG) to ensure all Indigenous four-years-olds in remote communities have access to early childhood education
within five years,” said Ms Dvorak. “Investment in early childhood development for disadvantaged children leads to
greater participation in society and productivity in later life.”
“However, we would urge Federal and State Governments to introduce cost-free, accessible early education to all
Indigenous communities as soon as possible. Save the Children Australia’s Indigenous early learning centres in
Western Australia and Queensland are widely recognised for effectively equipping children for primary school.
“More Indigenous teachers in primary and secondary schools would provide students with role models, supported
by more trained, non-Indigenous teachers to help reach students in remote areas. This would accelerate COAG’s
plans to halve the gap for Indigenous students in reading, writing and numeracy within a decade.”
National Literacy and Numeracy Week is an Australian
Government initiative celebrated in all states and
territories for the past ten years.
Save the Children Australia operates programs in Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.
The organisation supports development programs through our Alliance partners in selected countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Media inquiries: Annie Lawson 0437 355 096, Annie Pettitt 0416 123 077
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