Fewer Students Leave School Without Quals

The proportion of students leaving school with no qualifications has hit the lowest level in ten years, Education Minister Trevor Mallard said today.

"The latest Ministry of Education statistics show the percentage of students leaving school with no qualifications has dropped from 18 per cent of all leavers in 2002 to 15 per cent of 53,425 school leavers in 2003," Trevor Mallard said.

"This is excellent news and it's particularly encouraging that fewer Maori and Pasifika students are leaving without qualifications, with the numbers also at their lowest in ten years. The numbers of students across the board leaving with a qualification higher than NCEA level 1 is also on the increase. (see below)."

In 2002, 35 per cent of Maori school leavers left with no qualifications, and this dropped to 30 per cent in 2003. Similarly 26 per cent of Pasifika school leavers left with no qualifications in 2002, compared with 21 per cent in 2003.

"It's good to see improvements in achievement for these students. But the proportion of Maori and Pasifika students leaving with no qualifications at all is still far too high. The government will continue to focus efforts on lifting underachievement across the board. (see list of initiatives attached).

"We now have clear evidence showing raised levels of achievement and reduction in disparities between certain groups in our school population. I'm looking forward to further improvements in 2004 as the roll-out of level 3 NCEA and new scholarship assessment is completed," Trevor Mallard said.

The other statistics are:

In 2003, 67 per cent of school leavers left with qualifications higher than NCEA level 1, compared to 63 per cent in 2002 and 64 per cent in 2001. These include Sixth Form Certificate, NCEA level 2, Higher School Certificate, Entrance Qualification and University Bursary.The proportion of Maori and Pasifika school leavers with qualifications higher than NCEA level 1 grew markedly, from 39 per cent and 54 per cent respectively in 2002 to 45 per cent and 59 per cent in 2003.

Trevor Mallard said he was pleased to see that the proportion of students staying on at school until year 13 was also on the increase, from 58.2 per cent in 2001 to 60.1 per cent in 2004.

"No qualification" in this survey means a student has fewer than 14 credits at level 1 NCEA.

ENDS

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