Homeland Learning Centres are primary and secondary educational facilities in remote Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory of Australia. HLCs are operated by the Northern TerritoryDepartment of Education instead of schools. They do not have full-time qualified teachers for their students.
History
In the 1970s and 1980s, some Indigenous families in the Northern Territory left larger communities to move back to their traditional lands. The very remote communities they created are usually referred to as 'Homelands' or 'Outstations'. When faced with the difficulties of providing education in these Indigenous communities, the Northern Territory government created Homeland Learning Centres. Most are in very remote locations and some are often not accessible by road during the wet season. The Northern Territory government built HLCs for Indigenous students in very remote communities while building schools for non-Indigenous students. "All Homeland Learning Centre students are assumed to be Indigenous." More than 70 HLCs were constructed, the most recent at Emu Point in 2005-2006. Three were operated by the Catholic Education Office. The majority of HLCs are in East and West Arnhem Land - for HLC locations see the List of Homeland Learning Centres. The number of HLCs operational each year may vary as some Homelands are not always populated. The number of HLCs was gradually declining as some closed and others were upgraded to schools. In 2008, the NT Government announced that two HLCs - Alparra and Baniyala - would be upgraded to schools. Subsequent NT budgets have not included funding to upgrade any HLCs to schools.
Characteristics
Homeland Learning Centres are not schools - they are not classified as schools by the Northern Territory government or by the Australian Federal government. HLCs differ from schools in three respects:
Physical Facilities
HLCs were built at low cost, without electricity or flush toilets. Most were single classrooms, and some were built as shelters with roofs and walls but without windows or doors. By the mid 2000s, many had been upgraded to electricity supplied by generators, but most still did not have ablution facilities such as handbasins, hot water, or flush toilets. Accommodation was not provided for teachers.
Staffing and administration
HLC establishment and operation is based on the number of school-age students in a remote community, although there is often significant variation in actual implementation. School age was considered to be four to seventeen years. Twelve school age children entitles a community to an HLC; if the number drops below nine the HLC is closed. HLCs are entitled to one non-qualified 'Assistant Teacher' for each 17 students, and a visiting qualified teacher for every 22 students. HLCs do not have their own principal. They are the responsibility of a school principal who is in charge of a 'hub' school in a larger community. Yirrkala Homelands School, however, has no 'hub' school - its principal is responsible only for several HLCs in East Arnhem. Qualified teachers visit HLCs from one to four days each week. Visiting qualified teachers are not present at HLCs for the full school day, due to time spent travelling to and from the HLC. In 2009 the NT Department of Education stated they plan to 'increase teaching by qualified teachers up to 5 or 6 hours per day in a virtual or face to face context'. HLCs are staffed by Indigenous 'Assistant Teachers'. Assistant Teachers do not have teaching qualifications recognised by the Northern Territory Teacher Registration Board, or by other Teacher Registration Boards in Australia. Some Assistant Teachers have little or no English literacy or numeracy.
Curriculum
Until 2003, Indigenous students of secondary school age at HLCs did not receive a secondary education - "HLCs offer a primary education only - ie no preschool or secondary". From 2003 secondary age students at some HLCs followed the 'post-primary' curriculum used in remote Indigenous schools. In the 'post primary' curriculum mainstream secondary subjects including humanities and science were either not included or were only superficially studied. Mathematics and English were rudimentary. The 'Program Book' used in 2005 in some HLCs included: "Secondary English: "Secondary Mathematics: Students at Homeland Learning Centres have the lowest English literacy and numeracy in Australia. is Australia's national primary and secondary literacy and numeracy testing program. The confirm earlier state and territory based testing that show Northern Territory remote Indigenous students fail to meet Australian literacy and numeracy standards. NAPLAN data shows that literacy and numeracy failure rates in very remote Northern Territory schools and HLCs approach 100%. Independent literacy testing in October 2007 showed that of 29 students aged 5 to 17 in one Homeland, none were beyond Year 1 level.
Publicity
The NT Department of Education and Training does not provide information on Homeland Learning Centres on its website. Department Annual Reports do not list which Homeland Learning Centres are still operational. As at 18 August 2010, this Homeland Learning Centre Wikipedia entry was not accessible from within the NT Department of Education and Training intranet - it was listed as "blocked deemed to be of no educational value".
