The Minister for Education Natalie Hutchins has announced that more Victorian public schools will be named using First Nations languages.

Hutchins said that using First Nations languages in school names will help the ongoing reconciliation process.

“We’re ensuring the history, culture and languages of Victoria’s First Peoples are strongly embedded in our education system,” she said.

The policy changes will ensure that Traditional Owner groups will choose new school names to promote Aboriginal self-determination, though schools will still be able to put in preferences for proposed names.

Gabrielle Williams, the Minister for Treaty and First Peoples, said that this is an important step.

“How we name things, including schools, contributes to community understanding. This is particularly important on Victoria’s path to Truth and Treaty with our First Peoples,” she said.

Earlier this year, 12 new schools in Victoria were named after flora and fauna from the local Aboriginal language.

After nearly 5,000 submissions were received during the community consultation process, some of the names chosen included Barrawang Primary School, which comes from the Woi-wurrung word of the Wurundjeri people meaning “magpie”.

Another was named Wayi School after the Woi-wurrung word  of the Wurundjeri people meaning “us”.

PHOTO: Woman Reading A Book To The Children by Yan Krukau available HERE and used under a creative commons license. This photo has not been modified.