A couple of weeks ago I visited 10 schools as a member of the Block Grant Authority Priorities Committee. All schools were really interesting, and all had a good story to tell. All are faithfully serving NT communities and most face, like all schools, significant challenges. I had the pleasure of meeting Sister Anne Gardiner on Bathurst Island who was Cheryl’s head for four years. At 95 she is still associated with the school as she has been since she arrived in Tiwi in 1953 - a truely remarkable, dedicated person with a love of educating Aboriginal children. Her first task, when she arrived, related to the wooden church which was constructed 12 years before in 1941, was to teach Aboriginal children under the Church which was built on tall stumps. In our short trip we visited the Church which was impressive and understood that the money required to restore it was on the way to being raised. What amazing dedication! The museum near the church had many interesting displays about Tiwi history and culture. We had some Tiwi people show us around willing to explain exhibits in the museum. This highlighted the importance of all education being influenced by a cultural framework.

In our AISNT schools there are so many dedicated people and that is why they work so well. I remember my first year of teaching when an experienced teacher took me aside and made it clear to me that he worked from 8.45 to 3.00 and that was that. His commitment to this was not what I had signed up for as a teacher. Good teachers to me were dedicated to making school really work for kids. Students can be vastly different, which as we know makes education really challenging, but also rewarding both for the student and the teacher.

The visits of the Priorities Committee, which looks at facilities and the needs of the school and then make recommendations to the NT Block Grant Authority Board which discusses and prioritise these and sends these to the Federal Government Block Grant Authority which analysis the requests and makes decisions on which projects the Federal Government will support financially. Successful projects are confirmed with the successful schools, who are given a timeline to successfully complete the project. In school visits the following year, to assess new projects, the visiting team will also look at previous projects to see how they are progressing. The demayear; the amount of money allotted to the Non-Government schools of the Territory relates to the population of the NT. Many of the NT schools are ageing and the demand for capital works to be undertaken is always more than the money available. This is a positive time for the non - government sector as each visiting committee contains a member from AISNT, one from the Christian Schools Association (who are also members of AISNT) and one from the Catholic Schools. It is good for each sector to work together and share ideas. Years ago, I was also on the Priorities Committee and this time this is my third year. I have seen many really good schools which are achieving much with so many people who really care about education.

I really enjoy talking to taxi drivers and over the years I have ridden with heaps! They are usually good conversationists and are happy to chat, a worthwhile spin off for someone tackling their job. My driver in from the airport had been born in Darwin and owned a number of taxis, taking over the business started by his father. In the conversation I realised that he was a Muslim and I had the chance to say that I admired the setting up of the little Muslim school in Darwin, a long-term dream of the local Muslim leader. I had visited it , seen it in action and was sad to see that after such a short time it had closed. The driver said his son had gone to the school and I guess I could have actually seen him on the day I visited. Closing a school is a sad business because Schools are there to serve the community, making life better, supporting a population which is culturally richer as a result.

I have spent the last 7 years as the Public Officer of the Country Education Foundation of Central Australia. There are many Foundations around Australia which relate to local areas - for example Central Australia. It follows a Federal model with the Central office being in Orange in New South Wales. The key purpose of the each Foundation is to provide scholarships to support students  when they leave school and go onto further training, whether it is an Apprenticeships, University, TAFE or anything else. Each foundation raises money for the scholarships but will be assisted often by the Central Office or other Organisations. In Central Australia’s case one wonderful supporter is the Mary Vernon Foundation. In my time we have supported quite a few young people. To access their scholarship students text photos of receipts and the appropriate sum of money will then be deposited in their account. I have found it is great to have contact with young people and to follow them on their journeys. I sometimes have the opportunity to “have a Coffee” and hear about their experiences which is good for me to know and understand and good for them to share their stories. I can say that our young people in Central Australia are doing wonderful things. The local organisation is incorporated, works to a board, is also responsible to the central office and to ACNC (Australian Charities and Not- for- profits Commission) to which it has to report annually. The organisation, in our case serves Central Australia and goes as far as Tennant Creek. A person in Katherine can’t access the scholarships, but a Country Education Organisation, similar to Central Australia’s can be set up to serve that area.

Sure, the population of the NT at 265,450 people is small but it is always sobering to think that France population 67,07 million, the largest country in Europe in area, will fit into the NT twice with space to spare.

Written by Chris Tudor