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Budget 2008-09 > Indigenous Budget Fact Sheets > Closing the Gap for Indigenous Australians - Northern Territory - Enhancing education

Closing the Gap for Indigenous Australians - Northern Territory - Enhancing education

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS (DEEWR)

Key Elements

The Australian Government has committed $19.1 million to key education initiatives in the Northern Territory (NT) to reduce the gap between the school achievement of Indigenous and non-Indigenous children in the NT.

Background

The enhancing education measure will make a contribution towards:

• ensuring that children gain critical foundation skills in literacy and numeracy, especially the estimated 4,500 children of school age who are not enrolled, or who attend school sporadically;
• developing and sustaining a workforce of high performing school leaders and quality teachers in all schools in the 73 prescribed communities, with an emphasis on encouraging local Indigenous people into the education workforce; and
• the construction of up to six additional classrooms to meet anticipated increases in student numbers.

Implementation

The enhancing education measure will continue to be implemented in partnership with the NT Government and education providers, in close consultation with local schools and Indigenous communities.

Total Government Funding

The Australian Government has committed total funds of $19.1 million over 2008-09. Further activity will be informed by the outcomes of the NT Emergency Response review later this year.