Old schools, hearing difficulties concerns for COGSO

By ERWIN CHLANDA
 
The Yuendumu School and the Tennant Creek and Katherine high schools need to be brought up to Australian standards, says the NT Council of Government Schools (NTCOGSO).
 
“We are calling on the Gunner government to prioritise these schools so that its students are able to have the best school education to gain a bright future,” says president, Tabby Fudge.
 
“It is time to invest in capital, and our most important capital of all, our human capital are our children.”
 
Ms Fudge says the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics recognises a large percentage of Territory schools more than 30 years old.
 
Ms Fudge also says: “Every child deserves the right to be able to hear their teacher.”
 
She says school attendance by Aboriginal students is, on average, 70% for primary and 50%for secondary: “Parents and families tell us it is because their children cannot hear when they are at school.
 
“It is like learning in a muffled fog. They start to misbehave because they are frustrated and feel stupid. Next, they don’t bother to turn up.”
 
“COGSO’s hearing advocacy for up to 90% of our remote Indigenous students remains our number one priority,” says Ms Fudge.
 
“Just imagine if children had a school to be proud to walk into, where the acoustics meet the Australian standard for schools and they have every opportunity to hear their teacher.”