2. MOANA MACKEY (Labour) Link to this
to the Minister of Education
What action is the Government taking to ensure all young people achieve their potential through education?
Hon CHRIS CARTER (Minister of Education) Link to this
As the Prime Minister announced in the House on Tuesday, the Labour-led Government plans to revolutionise secondary schooling with our realising youth potential Schools Plus programme, which will ensure all young people are in education or training until the age of 18. Schools Plus will significantly improve the skill levels of all young New Zealanders, contribute to stronger communities, and ensure our economy has the skilled workers it needs to keep us prosperous.
What steps has the Labour-led Government already taken to improve learning opportunities for young New Zealanders?
Since 1999 the Labour-led Government has changed the direction of secondary schooling from a pass or fail model under National to a modern education system focused on building success for all students. The National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) gives students a comprehensive record of what they have actually achieved at school; we have rebuilt the route into trade and technical careers destroyed by the National Government, with Modern Apprenticeships, Gateway, and now Youth Apprenticeships; and we have launched the New Zealand curriculum to enable schools to personalise the education they offer to meet student and community needs. Schools Plus will build on these initiatives and give students and teachers a much wider range of education options to keep them engaged in learning up to and beyond the age of 18.
Anne TolleyWhy is the Government forcing students aged 16 and over to stay at school when the truancy rate for years 11 to 13 has already risen by 25 percent since 2004 and when many of these students just want the flexibility and choice that the National Party policy provides, where they can go out into the workforce and start earning a living?
Madam SPEAKERIt is impossible to hear in this Chamber when the barracking begins. So that everyone gets an opportunity to hear, members will be asked to leave.
It is not about the compulsion to go into a boot camp; it is about finding a pathway—whether that is a Youth Apprenticeship, working in an industry training organisation, working with a tertiary institution, or just staying at school—and students will get those choices under Schools Plus. It is an incredibly revolutionary idea, it builds on initiatives that we are already doing, and I think it is a fantastic programme.
Dr Pita SharplesTēnā koe, Madam Speaker. Can the Minister give an explanation for the findings of the Social Report 2007 that although 65 percent of European school leavers left school with NCEA level 2 or higher, only 36 percent of Māori school leavers achieved the same status, and what impact does that have on the ability to be employed?
It has a very serious impact on employment, and it is for exactly the reasons the member has outlined—and I share those concerns with the member—that we need to do something to change the way secondary schools operate, and Schools Plus is about that. It is about widening the range of options so that we can keep all young New Zealanders in education, which is not only good for them but also good for our country.
Given this lag in Māori education, will the Minister be resurrecting the manaaki tauira scholarship grant to allow more Māori to attend university?
I cannot comment on that particular programme, but what I can assure the member is that we will be utterly focusing on students in our school system at the moment who are not succeeding, the 40 percent of students who are leaving school without the equivalent of NCEA level 2. We have to provide new pathways to upskill those students.