Unis bid to boost student numbers

QUEENSLAND Indigenous university enrolments have soared by 144 per cent over the past 10 years but still only represent 2.8 per cent of the state’s domestic student population.

Across Australian universities, Indigenous student enrolments have more than doubled — from 9529 in 2008 to 21,097 in 2019 — but that still only represents 1.9 per cent of all student populations, according to comparisons compiled by Universities Australia.

It comes as Universities Australia and National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Higher Education Consortium (NATSIHEC) launch their new Indigenous Opportunity campaign amid NAIDOC Week, with two Queensland students the faces of the campaign.

Nunukul woman Becki Cook, 36, was the first in her family to attend university and is now studying a Masters of Education and Professional Studies Research at Griffith University, after having completed her undergraduate degree in a Bachelor of Science at the institution.

“Our Elders and people who have come before us have paved the way for us, by being a part of this campaign. Hopefully I can inspire others to follow their dreams and further their aspirations through education,” she said.

Liam Birch, 18, from Thursday Island, said because his family had been to university, they supported him. He is now studying a Bachelor of Business at Griffith University.

“I joined this campaign because I would like to encourage more Torres Strait Islanders to attend university and give it a go, and I guess, not to limit themselves,” he said.

NATSIHEC president Leanne Holt said because Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island peoples “have only really been invited into this space in the past 39 years”, there had been growth and a generational shift was emerging.

“A lot of that is because of the work of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples within higher education.”

“We still have a lot of work to do, we still continually hear from within the sector experiences of racism and discrimination and a lot of work to be done not just within higher education but within society as well,” Ms Holt said.

Universities Australia chief executive Catriona Jackson said while Indigenous recruitment strategies across Australian universities had seen an increase in more enrolments, universities knew more needed to be done.

“Barriers remain and it’s not always easy to see a pathway to uni – particularly for those who are the first in their family to consider higher education. That’s why this campaign is designed to both inspire and inform potential Indigenous students,” she said.