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Addressee: Australia
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On the basis of information received at the ninth session, the Permanent Forum expresses its deep concern about the changes in policy on bilingual education in the Northern Territory, Australia. The Forum urges the Government of Australia to work with its State and territory education systems to develop models of bilingual, intercultural and multilingual education that are consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Responses
Australia reports that the Government's focus is on ensuring Aboringinal and Torres Strait Islander chidlren attend school regularly. The starting point is the Remote School Attendance Strategy. The Common wealth Government is working closely with the relevant state, territory and non-government eduation providers to address a range of barriers contributing to non-attendnance, and to ensure Indigenous students in remote areas get to school and stay at school. Cross-curriculum teaching resources, focusing on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, have been introduced into Australia's national curriculum. In some instances, these resources provide information to all Australian students about traditional knowlege. In other instances, the resources are developed in such a way to ensure curriculum is delivered in a way that is relevant to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. Source: Australia report submitted to the 14th Session of the PFII (http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/2014/australia.pdf)
Final Report of UNPFII Session 9 (2010)
Area of Work
