A Message to All

Northern Territory Public School Teachers

5 February 2010

The launch of the Federal Government’s My School website has also launched the expected media frenzy around the generation of school league tables across the nation. No other media outlet in the country has engaged more enthusiastically or more reprehensibly to create these misleading and damaging tables than the Northern Territory News. Also, in a misguided attempt to muster political capital against the Northern Territory Government, the Country Liberal Party recently created their own league table ranking Urban Territory Schools against national NAPLAN averages. Of course, this was embraced by the NT News and other media outlets as more evidence of under performing Territory schools.

At both Federal and Territory levels, the AEU continues to oppose vigorously these crude, simplistic and damaging league tables that in no way reflect the quality of educational services in the Northern Territory.

Northern Territory teachers in all settings do, and have always done, amazing work under the most trying conditions and situations. This is not an excuse; it is a fact. We are the remotest of the remote and live in some of the harshest places in the country. We have the most stringent professional standards. The majority of our students achieve at levels which are a credit to them and those who work with them.

In no way should the achievements of your students, nor your own commitment and dedication to your work, be tainted by the media’s profit driven pursuit of sensationalism, or politicians’ pursuit of the populist vote.

The AEU-NT knows what great work you do. We will continue to fight against the lies and hysteria surrounding league tables.