ACT Education spokesperson Donna Awatere Huata said today the Government should listen to the 82 percent of teachers who believe there are inadequate structures in place to implement the planned new National Certificate of Education.

“There is a lot of opposition to this proposed new qualification. Some 35 percent of PPTA members are opposed outright to getting rid of external exams for senior secondary students.

“The National Certificate of Education is unproven and untested. And yet the Ministry of Education rides rough-shod over students all because they want to implement a weak assessment scheme.

“To push through this assessment scheme without testing is wrong.

“82 percent of teachers polled believe that there are inadequate structures in place for the NCEA implementation.”

Mrs Huata said at the end of the day the effects of ‘dumbing down’ our education system will be sadly shouldered by students, not the Ministry of Education.

“The Scottish education system has recently implemented a similar qualification and it has been a terrible disaster. Employers have been unable to trust the new unit standards and the Chief Executive Officer of the new Scottish Qualifications Authority has resigned – but the damage has been done to young lives.

“If school certificate, sixth form certificate and bursary disappear there will be no way of accurately determining what students have learned.

“It is imperative that we raise education standards in New Zealand. This means introducing benchmarks and assessments that can clearly indicate learning outcomes and a student’s level of achievement.

ENDS

For more information visit ACT online at http://www.act.org.nz or contact the ACT Parliamentary Office at act@parliament.govt.nz.

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