Nick Smith National Education Spokesperson
21 August 2002
Do less in NCEA, Government tells students
The Education Minister is advising secondary students not to do a full complement of five subjects in NCEA in a letter
sent to parents and caregivers today, says National's Education spokesperson, Nick Smith.
"The letter is an outrage. Students are effectively being told not to do the full complement of five subjects in the
NCEA because the Government can't get its act together to make the assessment system work properly.
"The Government should be fixing the qualifications system rather than telling students and parents not to try and
complete a full course.
"The NCEA is turning into an education disaster that will dumb down secondary schools. Every student should be able to
study five subjects and be assessed in five subjects.
"This extraordinary letter advising fewer students to attempt NCEA Levels 1 and 2 and for students to do fewer subjects
is an admittance of failure.
"The letter shows just how serious the problems with NCEA have become. The NZQA has publicly stated they don't have the
money to make it work. 75% of teachers want Level 2 postponed. It is time for the Minister to listen before he makes as
big a mess of school qualifications, as he made of teachers' pay," says Dr Smith.
Ends