7/11/02
Educational opportunities will be greatly enhanced for the Ngurrawaana Aboriginal community in the Pilbara region with the establishment next year of a new school, Education Minister Alan Carpenter announced today.
Mr Carpenter said the school, to be built at a cost of $1.1million, would help provide the children of the community with skills and knowledge that would be valuable to them for life.
"The State Government is committed to increasing the number of Western Australian students staying on to Year 12 or its equivalent," he said.
"In 2002, the number of Aboriginal students choosing to complete 12 years of schooling reached 25.1 per cent, the highest level in at least 15 years.
"While this improvement is encouraging, the figure is still too low and we have a long way to go to maximise educational opportunities for Aboriginal students.
"One way we are achieving this is by improving the delivery of education in communities such as Ngurrawaana."
Mr Carpenter said children in the Ngurrawaana community currently did not have easy access to formal education.
"The community has expressed a desire for the establishment of an educational facility to meet the needs of their children and young adults," he said.
Mr Carpenter said the first step for the establishment of the school at Ngurrawaana would be the formation of an implementation committee.
"The committee will involve personnel from the Department of Education's Pilbara District Education Office and the community to help determine educational needs best suited to the children and the community.
"The educational programs will be formulated on the basis of the findings by the implementation committee and will incorporate the culture, values and traditions of the community.
"The community is very positive about establishing training and skill development programs and has the necessary infrastructure in place to support a school."
The Ngurrawaana community is located in the Pilbara's Millstream/Chichester National Park, about 130kms south of Karratha and Roebourne.
"It is an important area for the Yinjibarndi people who still maintain cultural links to the land and continue a close association with Millstream wetlands to practice their traditional way of life," Mr Carpenter said.
The Ngurrawaana community is home to about 60 people, including about 20 children of school age.
The Government will provide the funds for the building of new classrooms and teacher accommodation as well as the recurring costs.
Minister's office: 9213 6800
