Federal Labor member for Lingiari Marion Scrymgour has said she supports Yipirinya School principal Dr Gavin Morris’ proposal to open a boarding school in Alice Springs to get Indigenous children off the street and into the classroom through a free lodging scheme, and has also suggested there needs to be a similar boarding school in Katherine.

Ms Scrymgour told The Australian she will be meeting with Dr Morris over the weekend to fast-track the proposed boarding school and also said she would be pushing federal Education Minister Jason Clare to consider dipping into the funds allocated for education in Central Australia.

The plan to open a boarding school, composed of four cottages that will house 24 students with staff accommodation, will cost $12 million according to building consultants Donald Cant Watts Corke, Dr Morris said.

“We can’t have another generation that becomes illiterate and disengaged from the system and then just ends up on the scrap heap. We’ve got to give young people some hope that they can live somewhere safely but they need to re-engage in the school system,” Ms Scrymgour said.

Dr Morris had recently told The Australian the idea came about because children are sometimes returned to his school in handcuffs or wearing ankle bracelets, and he told the story of how a 12-year-old kid and his mates had teachers chasing them through the town after they stole a minibus.

While Dr Morris’ proposal should be supported, Ms Scrymgour said, the accommodation must be built in a separate location from Yipirinya School and should be accessible to every student in Alice Springs.

He said the Yipirinya School has at least 200 Indigenous students both from town camps and outstations of Alice Springs, with some of the most disadvantaged students in the nation are attending the school.

“Centralian High in Alice Springs also has issues with kids needing somewhere to stay. If you’re going to have a boarding facility for some of these kids I think it shouldn’t be attached to any one school … there’s a real need in Alice Springs,” Ms Scrymgour said.

She also said she would also support a secure facility in Alice Springs for young people as an alternative to the controversial Don Dale Youth Detention Centre in Darwin.

“When we’re talking about youth crime, if the kids aren’t going to be sent to Don Dale, but to get them off the streets and as part of their bail conditions, they need to go into a secure facility. There is no facility in Alice Springs for that to happen,” she said.

NT Chief Minister Natasha Fyles did not comment on the proposal but indicated that the NT government would “stand up two facilities that families can go to when they are displaced and in need of support services.”