The Australian Education Union says teachers on the Northern Territory’s Elcho Island are being strong-armed into adopting “direct instruction”.

Direct instruction is an educational model developed in the US, in which schools use repetitive and scripted instruction to teach literacy and numeracy.

The method is already in place for 15 NT Government schools, and the Department of Education insists schools have been “invited” to sign on.

But reports this week say the department is putting undue pressure on schools to join the program.

“These are changes that are being made with minimal or no consultation with unions or with staff, or with the community,” union spokesperson Jarvis Ryan says.

“So you've got a government and a department that has decided; ‘We know what's going to work, we're going to implement this policy, whether you like it or not’.

“We should know from things like the Northern Territory intervention that when you have Government trying to impose paternalistic solutions on people without putting Aboriginal people at the centre of what they're doing, and making sure they are the ones driving the process, you get white fella solutions driven by white fella bureaucrats in Darwin.

“We've only got nine schools left that offer bilingual programs. Those schools, their programs are very run down.

“You contrast these millions of dollars being put into direct instruction, and this bilingual program that's left to wither on the vine, well of course it's not successful, because there's no political will.”

NT Education Minister Peter Chandler says those who oppose the program are playing political games.

“There's a lot of rot that's being spread and to think that we're going to walk away from bilingual education is just further evidence that people are just stirring the pot,” Mr Chandler said.

“If a community does not want to take on direct instruction it is not going to be imposed on them. And yes, consultation is all part of this.”

One of the most prominent supporters of direct instruction is indigenous leader Noel Pearson.

Mr Chandler says it gets results.

“You only have to talk to those teachers that have had the courage to take it on... and they are converts to the system,” Mr Chandler said.

“And that is very enthusiastic for me to hear, teachers that were against something in the first place are now so enthusiastic about it they are promoting it to others.

“There's a measurement that's taken every single week and the teachers get feedback every single week on children's... advancement.”

The union says it would celebrate any program that brought clear results, but that a slower, more voluntary roll out would be better.

Most agree that something must be done to end the Northern Territory’s history of scoring low in school literacy and numeracy compared with the rest of Australia.