MaRT is the Australian Department of Education, Science and Training’s Monitoring and Reporting Team. Some of our colleagues gave us the name ‘SMaRT Team’ last year, and we certainly try to work smarter.
The team operates as an important link between Indigenous people around Australia and the Australian Government in Canberra. It’s MaRT’s job to keep up to date with information on how well the Government’s money is working to give you the best education possible to reach your full potential.
There are usually about eight of us in the team, and we enjoy being involved in a job that has the potential to make a significant difference to Indigenous people.
We spend most of our time collecting and analysing information (data), for example, the number and characteristics of Indigenous people in preschools, schools, VET and universities, and how they are progressing. We compare the educational outcomes for Indigenous people with those of other Australians, so that the Government better understands the differences, and can provide leadership and specific funding to improve education and training for Indigenous people.
We collect as much information as possible first-hand – from Indigenous students, teachers and communities. In the past few months, we have talked in Walgett with representatives of preschools such as Koolyangarra and Gainmara Birrilee, in Cairns with Shalom College, and in Darwin with Batchelor College.
MaRT keeps the Australian Government informed regularly about education and training for Indigenous people, and each year we write one major report for the Minister to present to Parliament on how Indigenous education and training is progressing. If you would like to see the latest one, it’s at www.dest.gov.au/schools/publications/2003/nrpiet/2002split.htm or phone Alexsandra Jia on (02) 6240 7807. The next report will be out in November.

Tags: School, Training