Katherine Rich MP
National Party Education Spokeswoman
12 February 2007

Education Minister must name schools

Education Minister Steve Maharey must name the five schools under investigation for breaching NCEA regulations, says National Party Education spokeswoman, Katherine Rich.

In the wake of the Waverley High School failure, NZQA has admitted five other schools are under investigation for breaching NCEA regulations.

“Parents with children doing NCEA have a right to know whether it’s their school under investigation, potentially undermining the credibility of their children’s NCEA marks.

“Parents will be livid if one or two years down the track when NZQA’s investigation is complete, another ‘Waverley’ or ‘Cambridge High’ story breaks and parents find they weren’t told at the time,” Mrs Rich says.

“If NZQA has deep concerns about a school’s ability to do internal assessment for NCEA, then it is taking a huge risk with the education of every one of those students unknowingly working within that school’s faulty system.

“It is a risk NZQA doesn’t have the right to take.

“It’s tantamount to knowing there’s a tidal wave on the way but refusing to tell those swimming in the surf in the vain hope that it could all be sorted out before the wave hits the beach.

“The credits being earned this term will have their credibility hugely undermined if, down the track, reports conclude that the school’s NCEA breaches were not rectified.

“We now know NZQA had concerns about Waverley High School for years, and now all those students have left are bits of paper that employers don’t know whether to trust or not.

“Employers follow the progress of schools and when a school develops a reputation for being slack on assessment, it’s the young person who strikes trouble when they look for work.

“The Waverley High School breaches of NCEA guidelines make the past problems of ‘credit-farming’ at Cambridge High School look like minor indiscretions.

“I feel sorry for the students caught in the middle.

“Only the Minister and NZQA know where the other schools under investigation fall on the continuum. The Minister must do his duty and tell parents which schools are under such serious investigation so that they can make informed choices.”

ENDS

© Scoop Media