Hon Bill English

National Education Spokesman

27 August 2004

English hands box over to NZQA

Trevor Mallard needs to reassure parents and students that the Government will stop ignoring the problems with NCEA and get on and fix them, says National's Education spokesman, Bill English.

"Mr Mallard can't keep blaming individual schools for the shortcomings in the system."

Mr English says he today handed over the box of NCEA material, which he had referred in Parliament yesterday, to the New Zealand Qualifications Authority.

"My questions in Parliament concerned the credibility of the Minister and NZQA who have both recently stated they had no evidence of problems with NCEA.

"I understand the Principal of Hauraki College was made aware of problems related to a particular teacher earlier this year and took action to correct those problems. The school has shown a level of honesty and professionalism which the NZQA could learn from.

"NZQA have been far too slow to support the school when NCEA is under the spotlight. When NZQA had evidence of more problems with NCEA, they should have owned up.

"Feedback I have had from the school community today confirms that the principal and the school are held in high regard.

"It is unfair of the government to rely on investigating individual schools when the problems Hauraki Plains College have encountered with NCEA are likely to be common because of the nature of the system," says Mr English.

ENDS

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