Batemans Bay University of Wollongong (UOW) campus was a hive of energy on Friday as indigenous students from around the Eurobodalla took part in the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME).
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The program endeavours to give local indigenous students the skills, opportunities, belief and confidence to grow and succeed in the world beyond school.
UOW AIME centre manager Brendan Newton said the program was off to a great start, with students keen to meet their mentors and get involved.
“We are pretty excited about this and we are hoping that this will be the first of five sessions that we run at the UOW Batemans Bay Campus,” Mr Newton said.
“We have been running these programs for a while in other sites on the South Coast from Bulli to Bega and they have proved to really work.”
Mentors for the program are indigenous and non-indigenous UOW students who are keen to help students in the vital years of schooling between years 9 and 12.
The program also keeps in touch with students six months after their schooling is complete.
“Our aim is to get them engaged rather than disengaged with school and also to build a relationship with their mentors who will support them through this stage,” Mr Newton said.
“The ultimate goal is not to push every student into university, that’s not always for everyone.
“What we hope to do is get everyone involved in the program to transition to something, whether that be a job, further study at university or a trade.”
Around Australia more than 2700 indigenous students participate in AIME in 2013.
Of the 220 AIME students who completed year 12 in 2013, 59 transitioned to university.
Many others embarked on other avenues of further education, training and employment.
The year 9 to year 12 completion rate in 2013 was 76 per cent, well above the national indigenous average of 38 per cent and close to the national non-indigenous average of 80 per cent.
AIME also achieved a solid result for the transition from year 10 to year 11, historically a ‘drop-out’ point for high school students, with 550 or 93 per cent of the 590 participating AIME students progressing in 2013, essentially the same rate as for non-indigenous students.
Eurobodalla students experience a day or workshops and activities where they go to know their mentors a little better.
