NCEA survey reveals broken promises

17 February 2011

An NCEA survey released by PPTA today exposes the government’s failure to support secondary schools during a period of massive change.

Schools from Southland to Upper Northland are struggling under the increasing workload around NCEA created by government decisions to push through numerous changes all at once.

PPTA president Robin Duff believed the increasing workload was a direct result of “slashing and burning” in the public sector.

“Schools are facing change on a huge scale to match NCEA up with the new New Zealand curriculum, but the resources behind these changes have been slashed. A team of only about four people is overseeing these changes country-wide.

“When National came into power a key promise was not to cut frontline services, yet it is those on the frontline being directly affected when millions are cut from the backroom services designed to support them,” he said.

The survey reveals some subjects are affected more than most, with Technology, Computing, Graphics/Design and Visual Communication, Home Economics, Mathematics, English, Media Studies, Accounting and Business Studies bearing the brunt of it.
“NCEA has been the bane of my life and I don’t feel I teach better than before. I actually assess more and teach less,” one English teacher said.

The NCEA system was largely rudderless, with teachers being left to make it work despite the lack of support, Duff said.
“When our own minister of education won’t even publicly back our national qualification it shows something has got to change,” he said.

The full survey can be found on PPTA’s website at: http://www.ppta.org.nz/index.php/resources/publications/doc_download/1064-the-cost-of-change-ppta-survey-on-ncea-workload-2010

ENDS

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