Indigenous Language to Be Taught in Australian Schools From 2024

A young girl holds up an Australian Aboriginal flag in Sydney, Australia, on Jan. 26, 2022. Steven Saphore/AFP via Getty Images

The Albanese government has announced $14 million (USD $9.2 million) in funding for primary schools to teach Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages in classrooms starting from 2024.

Expressions of interest are open for the First Nations Languages Education Program, created in partnership with the peak body First Languages Australia (FLA).

The goal is to strengthen Indigenous languages with 60 educators in primary schools across the country.

Indigenous Australians Assistant Minister Malarndirri McCarthy emphasised the importance of preserving Indigenous languages, one of the world’s oldest cultures, in classrooms nationwide.

“All students, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, will benefit from this program that will ensure First Nations languages thrive into the future,” she said in a statement.

The program seeks to achieve Target 16 of Closing the Gap, which states that by 2031, there should be a sustained increase in the number and strength of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages spoken.

Education Assistant Minister Anthony Chisholm highlighted that protecting the oldest language is vital for boosting Indigenous Australian school attendance.

Between 2019 and 2022, attendance rates for Indigenous Australian students in grades one to 10 dropped from 82 percent to 75 percent, while non-Indigenous students experienced a mere decline of 92 percent to 87 percent.

“The program will help strengthen and preserve languages, cultures, identities and the wellbeing of First Nations people and support school attendance, engagement and academic achievement for students,” Mr. Chisholm said.

“It will also help support the placement of up to 60 First Nations language educators in primary schools that are involved in local community partnerships from 2024,” he said.

Education Minister Jason Clare also weighed in.

He said that it is about helping more young Australians develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of the first languages and cultures of the nation.

Expressions of interest are open until Feb. 28 2024.

It comes after the Albanese government’s pledge to preserve and promote Indigenous Australian languages with Australia’s latest Action Plan for the International Decade of Indigenous Languages.

Local Indigenous Ngunnawal residents celebrate at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra, Australia, on Jan. 26, 2023. Martin Ollman/Getty Images

The plan emphasises the urgent situation of First Nations languages in Australia and recognises the need for a united effort to protect them for the future.

Minister for the Arts Tony Burke, who launched the plan, said every language contains words, ideas, concepts, and emotions that only live within that language.

“It’s up to us to provide the support to make sure that those words and concepts—that describe stories going back to the first sunrise—will always be preserved and cherished on this land,” he said.

Earlier, the United Nations General Assembly called 2022 to 2032 the International Decade of Indigenous Languages.

This declaration aims to highlight the critical condition of numerous indigenous languages globally.

Alarming Language Loss

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages face one of the world’s highest rates of language loss.

Around 150 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages are spoken in Australia, but only 14 are considered strong.

Dunghutti woman and Early Education Specialist Deborah Hoger said at the time of colonisation, there were over 250 languages and dialects being spoken across First Nations countries.

“Sadly, today there are only around 60 known languages still in use,” she said.

To understand the decline, students needed to be taught First Nations history alongside language, said Hayley McGuire, the CEO of National Indigenous Youth Education Coalition (NIYEC) and a Darumbal and South Sea Islander woman.

“It’s important they understand the broader context of why Aboriginal people were denied learning language within an educational setting in the first place,” she told ABC News.

She stressed that any language program should ensure traditional owners and young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices had a say on how students learn Indigenous languages.

“It has to centre around self-determination,” she said.