Young musician Kakira Brennan wanted to be a singer from an early age. She was just as determined to complete Year 12.
“Education and being an intelligent person has always been the number one thing my family's been focused on,” she tells SBS World News. “You go to school, you study and that's how you get somewhere in life.”
She’s now four weeks away from completing a Certificate Four in music industry performance at New South Wales TAFE.
“Doing my Certificate Three and Four has given me the confidence to actually go out and find somewhere to do a gig. So for me, after the Cert Four, doing a diploma and gigging is going to be my thing.”
Obtaining qualifications
She is one of a growing number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people obtaining qualifications.
Census figures released on Monday show nearly half of Aboriginal people aged between 20 and 24 finished Year 12, up 15 per cent from 2006.
Just over 15,000 went onto university or TAFE last year, more than double a decade ago.
That's led to a 150 per cent jump in Aboriginal people holding Certificate Three or Four-level qualifications.
The government says it is funding more support for Aboriginal students, such as mentoring programs.
More resources needed
Aboriginal education groups say the latest census figures are encouraging but more resources are needed to ensure more students stay in school.
The executive officer of Aboriginal Education Council, Bev Baker, says: “We’ve had older women take up their chances through education to get back what they lost […] as young people. They have passed that value of education down to their children and then their children are passing it on to their children. That’s how changes are made.”
Creating safe spaces in schools and tertiary institutions is critical, she believes.
“Even simple things, like renaming things into the local Aboriginal language, values the Aboriginal culture. Therefore the Aboriginal people realise that they are in a place that is welcoming and safe and they are prepared to engage fully, rather than engage with a wary eye.”
Reconciliation Australia’s CEO Karen Mundine adds: “We need to make sure that young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students have high expectations when they come into the classroom, that they have high quality teachers and the communities that they work in are engaged as well.”
