UTS Reconciliation Agenda a decade on to where?

By

Prof N M Nakata

I too want to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land we stand on today. I also want to acknowledge the presence of the Honourable Minister at this important occasion as well as her long commitment to Australian Indigenous education issues. And I want to convey a special thank you to the Vice Chancellor for his commitment to a stronger future for Indigenous education and research at UTS.

Colleagues, students, & friends, I have been asked to say only a few words today to mark the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the Reconciliation Statement.

The adoption of the Reconciliation Statement punctuates the halfway point of two decades of an Indigenous presence at UTS. So this is a significant event for all of us at UTS.

That UTS was one of the first universities to adopt a Reconciliation Statement, says something about the relationship developed over the previous decade by all those who contributed to the cause.

Measures to assist Indigenous participation in higher education are special provisions which fall under the broader equity umbrella. Indigenous students are not the only group of disadvantaged students at UTS. They are not the only students to be poor, or to have not completed secondary school, or to suffer from prejudice and racism, or to have dysfunctional families, or to struggle with their English literacy skills. They are not so special or unique in these regards.

But Indigenous Australians, students and staff, as the descendants of the first people, we do have a unique and special status in the university that sets us apart from other equity groups.

It is common for many to see Indigenous special provision measures as privileges that Indigenous students enjoy, over and above those that other students enjoy. They are no such thing.

They are due reparation for historical injustice and the legacies of past policies, including past exclusion from adequate formal education. They are an important part of the quest to improve Indigenous futures. Indigenous centres in universities and Indigenous special programs have evolved to meet Indigenous student needs, and without them we would have far fewer students and graduates.

So what we do have, over and beyond other equity groups, is an identified and acknowledged presence in UTS; guided for the last decade by the Reconciliation Statement. This helps to ensure that commitment to Indigenous higher education is core to the university ethos.

It is then left to us who work at UTS - Indigenous and non-Indigenous - to ensure that this opportunity is translated into educational success and employment opportunities.

This is why 'how we support Indigenous students'  needs to be under continual review. What we once did is not necessarily the best we can do now. Nor is it likely to be sufficient to equip our students for the demands of the future.

We live in changing times. Change impacts in institutional and Indigenous contexts and shapes the evolution of higher educational practice, intellectual thought, and scholarly knowledge. Work contexts are increasingly competitive and Indigenous issues remain incredibly complex in all the professions.

UTS is a much different institution from the one our Indigenous students entered 20 years ago, and different again from the institution which adopted the Reconciliation Statement.

Structures change, courses change, knowledge changes, teaching and learning practices change, the composition of staff and student bodies change, funding arrangements change, career and work opportunities change.

Indigenous staff here, and across the higher education sector, have to keep abreast of changing institutional and intellectual contexts to ensure Indigenous responses and actions are relevant and effective in contemporary contexts. This means that in the way we support students, we have to continue to evolve our practices and develop our relationships across the university.

In this process, we have to be honest with ourselves about what will serve our Indigenous students well and what will not develop the best in our students.

It is time to place more focus on the academic challenges our students face.

The quality of academic engagement directly affects the quality of Indigenous graduates-and the Indigenous community needs quality graduates. We are in need of critical thinkers, analytical writers, effective communicators, and graduates who have come to grips with the academic content of their courses and understand its meaningful application in their professional and work contexts.

So in the next decade or two at UTS, more analysis of Indigenous academic difficulties is indicated. More attention to academic preparation issues is needed. More review of the effectiveness of academic skills and tutorial support for Indigenous students is necessary. More effective tracking and monitoring for early intervention and follow-up of students at risk is demanded. More attention to how to deal with Indigenous content in courses is urgent. All the nuts and bolts of teaching and learning practice as it applies to Indigenous students and issues now need more focussed attention. And this will take time, and effort.

The issues associated with Indigenous content and knowledge in courses require a deeper and more complex engagement between Indigenous and non-Indigenous academics than has occurred and within the Indigenous faculty as well. Indigenous concerns about knowledge and content in courses are not trivial or superficial. They are not an indulgence, or an unnecessary demand, on our part. The issues are relevant to the preparation of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous graduates for the professions that intersect with Indigenous people and issues. Our discussions will need to be open but frank; robust but respectful.

So, we can celebrate the progress so far. We can thank those who have worked hard on our behalf. We can pat ourselves on the back for our student entry numbers, for the quality of our pastoral support, for the way we crisis-manage our Indigenous students.

We can celebrate the Jumbunna IHL research unit with a national profile led by a talented and leading Indigenous public intellectual who brings prestige and research funds to UTS.

We can celebrate our few Indigenous academics in mainstream courses and put our minds to developing more.

We can acknowledge our Special Programs who grapple with difficult situations but who have brought in a significant proportion of students over the years.

I applaud and acknowledge how much support we have at UTS.

I acknowledge UTS for its commitment as expressed in the Reconciliation Statement and for the good relationships we enjoy across all levels, beginning with the Vice Chancellor and the Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor.

I applaud Indigenous colleagues who put in their best effort and those academic and general staff across the university who assist us in our work.

But as the Director of Jumbunna IHL, I also acknowledge that we have to lift our game in another sense, and evolve the way we support Indigenous access, participation and outcomes at UTS.

We need to understand that reconciliation in this country is not just about the attainment of equity. It is also about righting the wrongs of the past. It is also about the extraordinary efforts we need to make to get things right. And it is about the future of Australian Indigenous people.

Importantly, and as we go forward to the next decade, we need to elevate the reconciliation statement to the level of university policy so that there is no equivocation about this university's agenda at the Faculty level.