Some children detained on Christmas Island for up to nine months have had only two weeks of schooling during that time, a public hearing in Sydney has been told.
The Human Rights Commission has begun its public hearings, which will examine the impact of detention on children's mental health, rates of self-harm and how children are being assessed before being sent offshore.
The commission's president, Professor Gillian Triggs, recently visited Christmas Island with two child health experts, and told the inquiry 300 children are missing out on an education.
An official from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection told the hearing the department's priority was to break the people smugglers' business model and dissuade people from coming to Australia.
The department says it wants to improve schooling on the island, but is having difficulties getting teachers there.
The last inquiry, which began in 2002, found the Federal Government was failing to take adequate care of children, and declared that the human rights of children were being breached.
That finding led to the Howard government releasing children into the community as a result.
There are more than 900 children in Australian immigration detention, not including the Nauru offshore processing facility. abc.net.au
