Hon Bill English National Party Education Spokesman
8 February 2005
NCEA discrepancies unacceptable
The Government's admission that there are unacceptable discrepancies in NCEA scholarship results is a disgrace because
it cheats thousands of young New Zealanders striving for excellence, says National's Education spokesman, Bill English.
David Benson-Pope, the Associate Education Minister, today released a report confirming that NCEA scholarship results
were heavily skewed.
The report was ordered after the National Party and schools expressed concern that scholarships were not awarded fairly
across all subjects. In particular, very few science scholarships were awarded relative to other subjects.
"The so-called 'distinction awards' announced today by Mr Benson-Pope are a tacky cover-up by a government that has
shown contempt for excellence in education," says Mr English.
"Labour was warned last year that the scholarship system was likely to be a shambles but Trevor Mallard proceeded with
it anyway and thousands of students are paying the price.
"Students who slogged all year to achieve our top secondary school qualification have been told today that the
Government never took their aspirations seriously, and they have every right to be disgusted.
"As a parent of children in the public education system I cannot believe that our wonderful young people have been
victims of such casual incompetence," says Mr English.
Ends