More than half of Aboriginal school children across New South Wales are failing to meet attendance benchmarks and no specific stesp are being taken to reverse the decline, a fresh report reveals.
An Auditor General's report this week revealed fewer than 43 percent of Aboriginal students in years 1-10 came to school at least 90 percent of the time in the first semester of 2021, down from 52.7 percent three years prior.
In contrast, regular attendance for non-Indigenous kids sat at 70.3 percent for the start of 2021.
The numbers are well short of NSW Department of Education's aim to increase attendance to 95 percent under its strategic plan for 2018-2022.
Causing greater concern, the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students meeting the benchmark continues to widen.
While attendance dropped across the board, the disparity has grown by more than four percent in the previous three years, pinning Indigenous kids well behind their peers.
The effects are felt through to year 12 qualification attainment where the students are similarly underrepresented.
In 31 disadvantaged schools placed under a strategy to boost school participation, attendance rates dropped by 5.6 per cent between 2018 and 2021.
The report recommended a review of current strategies and consultation with stakeholder groups.
A NSW Department of Education spokesperson said the Department accepted the recommendations.
"We're already taking action to improve attendance in our schools, and have accepted or support in principle all recommendations from the NSW Auditor-General's report," they said..
"This includes reviewing the current range of strategies and programs supporting attendance for Aboriginal students, working with relevant stakeholders to address any gaps.
"This includes the Clontarf Foundation and the National Aboriginal Sporting Chance Academy, who we work with to deliver programs to Aboriginal students to improve attendance rates.
"We also have Aboriginal Student Liaison Officers who provide targeted attendance support for Aboriginal students and their families."
2020 was left out of reporting due to COVID-19.
