Flaws in Indigenous Scholarship Program

But what should our Government be asking about this feel good work?

To answer this we need look more closely and the model and its assumptions and ask the following questions:

1. Why are scholarships only for attending Australia's most elite schools?

The AIEF model assumes that our most elite, most expensive non-Government schools, where almost all students are from a highly privileged background, are best placed to educate Indigenous students who have been assessed as potential leaders.

This focus is clearly a selling point for AIEF. Many potential funders would be graduates of these institutions, The AIEF can toss around the term "world class education" and imply that they are the opposite of racist. But in so doing they are giving a slap in the face to all Government and "non-elite" schools – and implying that they are not good enough for these, our future Indigenous leaders. Why not send students to James Ruse Agricultural School. It tops the ATAR averages year upon year. Or why not consider including the three NSW Government schools with boarding facilities or the many WA schools with boarding facilities.

I can't help but think that Penfold has chosen these schools because this is the world he comes from and moves in. He knows 'the service' he is buying. That was fine when this was just a private initiative, but now Government funding is involved, and this is no longer an adequate reason.

Australia's elite private schools inhabit a world quite sheltered from the problems that many government schools have to grapple with and of course it is a world that possibly has the least understanding of the challenges facing the home communities of the indigenous scholarship students. But it is these students, not the schools, who will have to do the cultural adapting. The values and ethos of the school will, of course, not change.

2. Why do elite schools need additional funding for this purpose?

Elite non-Government schools have a long and strong tradition of providing scholarships to enable a small number of worthy students to enjoy the blessings available to Australia's elite class. Scholarships enhance a school's reputation; continue a tradition of 'noblesse oblige'; and, support triple bottom line reporting. It can be in a school's direct commercial interest to compete, even at a cost, for the students who will produce the academic outcomes the school needs to retain their ATAR outcomes.

In recent times, many elite schools have set aside places for Indigenous scholarships and have been slowly building this stream of scholarships. These scholarships have also benefited the schools for the same reasons. They may also be a vehicle for developing relationships with particular remote communities, a potential educational benefit for their non-Indigenous students.

Interestingly, these elite schools were able to establish these scholarships using their own resources. There was every indication that these schemes were working out well for these schools and were beginning to grow.

I am sure that the scholarships will grow more quickly under the new arrangements – and why not. AIEF will reimburse all the costs borne by a school for each Indigenous student placement. The schools will still reap all the benefits that drove it to introduce Indigenous scholarships in their first place. Additionally, the federal government will then provide the elite school with additional funding as, under the non-Government schools funding formulae – both old and new - schools receive additional funds for every single indigenous student enrolled.