Afters years of discussion surrounding the matter, the HSC curriculum will soon include Aboriginal languages.

The decision has been made in a bid to strengthen Indigenous culture across New South Wales.

Announcement earlier this month by Minister for Education, Adrian Piccoli at the Menindee Central School, he said the “new course will help maintain this critical part of Aboriginal cultures.”

“Menindee Central School is a Connected Communities school and already teaches Paakantji. The new course enables students to continue their studies into Years 11 and 12 and I look forward to other schools joining them,” Mr Piccoli said.

While the HSC Aboriginal Languages course will contribute towards the HSC, it will not contribute to the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank itself.

In an interview with Huffington Post Australia, a spokesman for the Department of Education attributed this decision to the fact that the course will be content based, and therefore does not have an exam like other HSC subjects.

While aboriginal languages expert, Professor Jakelin Troy from the University of Sydney says it’s great to see an emphasis being placed upon Aboriginal languages, she criticised the approach and said it could deter students from picking the subject in Years 11 and 12.

“It’s unacceptable that students who choose to study Aboriginal languages for their HSC will not be able to claim these marks towards their ATAR,” Professor Troy said.

“This may serve as a further disincentive to study Aboriginal languages, not to mention the fact that not every NSW school will offer these subjects.”

Instead, the Professor says Australians should take a leaf out of New Zealand’s book.

Maori has been recognised as an official language for decades and is protected under the 1987 Maori Language Act.

“New Zealand students can even complete their PhD in Maori,” said Professor Troy.

“Until Aboriginal languages have official recognition, and are taught in a meaningful and systematic way, attitudes towards these languages will remain indifferent at best and ignored at worst.”

Currently 19 out of the 35 Aboriginal languages used in NSW are being taught across the state at year 10 level at 61 schools.

Source: The Huffington Post Australia