The Yolngu people of East Arnhem Land have a word – Dhupuma – which translates as “look up to the future”.

When it came to naming a school aimed at preparing future generations of Yolngu for the challenges that lay ahead in 1972, Gumatj clan elder Mungurrawuy Yunupingu chose “Dhupuma College”.

That school closed in 1981, and the story behind its closure and the devastating impact it had on the local community, already contending with the unique challenges faced by Australia’s Indigenous population, is best left to others.

But parents of students at Anglicare Victoria’s Educational Services Unit who spoke to the Bendigo Advertiser following news of its slated closure this week, can no doubt relate to the despair the Yolngu people felt at the time.

While it is tempting to find someone to blame when decisions are made which have far-reaching negative consequences for the lives of young people, the reality is – unlike the situation in East Arnhem Land where the school closure was a decision of the Northern Territory government – there are no bad guys here.

Anglicare is a not-for-profit organisation which provides much-needed services for disadvantaged people across the state.

It does not have unlimited resources and as such must at times make difficult decisions about where its current priorities lie, and there will always be winners and losers.

Nor is it obliged to keep the ESU open as it is a state government responsibility to ensure every Victorian student receives an appropriate education.

Though it appears the government is no more at fault, as it was not even aware of the decision to close the school until Thursday.

And there lies the real problem: communication.

Where Anglicare is at fault is in its handling of the decision to close the ESU.

By engaging more with parents in the lead-up to the decision and explaining the reasons behind it, which still remain unclear, much of the heartache could have been avoided.

Regardless, parents like Leanne Cullen are now left to worry about how her son, Riley Hunter, will “look up to the future”.

“They talk about kids needing education to get somewhere in life but if they take the education away that’s available for them, how do they get a chance at life?” she asked.

Jason Walls, journalist