Not only are many people unaware of how the policies and treatment of the past affect Aboriginal people today, but also how Aboriginal people now see education affecting themselves. As indicated elsewhere in the report, since colonisation in 1829 the policies affecting Aboriginal people have caused dislocation and destabilisation and have failed to address real needs and aspirations.
Education is no exception.
Two systems of education existed. One centralised for non-Aborigines and the other without direction and relevancy operated for Aborigines. A Conference of affiliated Parents and Citizens Associations in Perth moved that the regulation 85 of the Education Act should apply throughout the State. 1940 Aboriginal children were admitted to Government schools but only if they met the required standards of health and hygiene. The consideration that Aboriginal children were only educable to the 3-5 levels were influenced by the belief that as a race they were dying out.