BALRANALD children could be among those to attend a proposed school that would teach Aboriginal culture.
Although still in the early stages, the school would incorporate local Indigenous culture into its teachings.
The proposal has come from the Wakool Indigenous Corporation and is currently being considered by the New South Wales Board of Studies.
If approved, it would see the 40-place Warribadee Community School established in the old Maude Public School.
The school is located on the land of the Mutti Mutti tribe, close to the traditional boundary with the Nari Nari tribe.
However, the corporation’s managing director Cynthja Pappin said enrolments would be open to Indigenous and non-Indigenous children from any background.
She said many Indigenous children in Balranald were “feeling very disconnected with the education system”, and the school could help to renew interest in education.
“We have identified a need within the region based on what the community — the mothers, fathers and grandparents of the children — feel is lacking in the education system,” she said.
“What we are trying to do is to lift these children and give them a generational change to value education and to see going to school as something that they want to do for themselves.”
Classes would cover the usual lessons, but incorporate the Mutti Mutti culture.
Current schools offer Aboriginal studies, however it is generalised and does not focus on a specific tribal group.
For more on this story, grab a copy of Friday’s Guardian (April 10).
