9. KELVIN DAVIS (Labour) Link to this
to the Minister of Maori Affairs
Does he stand by his statement “Māori students should be granted open access to universities at any age with no qualifications”; if not, why not?
How does allowing open access for Māori to university address the core issue of Māori underachievement at school?
Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES Link to this
The member is right; it does not. We have had 60 years of challenging secondary schools to increase their work rate. Fifty-one percent of Māori boys leave secondary school with no National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) qualifications. We have a trial programme that allows Māori into university at some institutions without any qualifications, then they do a bridging course to bring them up to standard, and then they enrol in first-year papers. The other part of my request was that kaupapa Māori be introduced into the teaching at universities.
Why does the Minister want to give Māori free access to university at any age when the current policy allows open entry to university for all students from the age of 20 anyway?
Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES Link to this
Part of the reason is the way that some teachers allocate subjects in years 9, 10, and 11 to Māori students means that they are automatically taken away from the university entrance programme. A recent thesis produced by Margaret Taurere of Auckland University details subject choices and how they are made. Māori families do not know about that, and there needs to be an education programme. But, basically, secondary schools have to lift their work rate.
Te Ururoa Flavell Link to this
Tēnā koe, Mr Speaker. Kia ora tātou. How does the Minister account for the fact that Māori students have the lowest rates of progression from school to tertiary education of any ethnic group, and what is he doing about it?
Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES Link to this
Over the years I have tried just about everything and still there is that gap in achievement in secondary education. As I said, 51 percent of boys leave school with no NCEA qualifications. As the Associate Minister of Education I am running out the kotahitanga programme in more schools. I have an education programme for school principals to get them in the groove so they know what is required for Māori students. I will establish a trade academy and I have a literacy programme in South Auckland, which I will be announcing very shortly. I am working on kaupapa Māori programmes, kōhanga, kura, wharekura, and whare wānanga, and my task force on the economy has a transition programme to get secondary students into the tertiary sector.
If the Minister is concerned about providing bridging courses to better prepare Māori students for tertiary education, why did he vote in favour of a Budget that cut funding to adult and community education for literacy and numeracy courses that prepare many Māori for higher education?
Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES Link to this
As part of our arrangement with the National Government, we give them confidence and supply—
Hon George HawkinsHon Dr PITA SHARPLES Link to this
—a lifetime of working for one’s people is not being a sell-out, so I tell that member to start learning—and that is the reason.
Te Ururoa Flavell Link to this
Can the Minister explain why lifting the number of Māori people with degree-level qualifications is important to him?
Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES Link to this
Māori people with degrees have a high participation rate in the workforce of 90 percent, they have a strong resilience to unemployment of 3 percent, and they earn 150 percent more than Māori people without degrees. At the macro level, increasing the returns of Māori labour is the single most important action for improving Māori prosperity, and ensuring that more Māori students get degrees is paramount.
Does the Minister still believe that he has no chance of getting the Government to agree to allow open entry of Māori students at university; if so, is that statement an admission that the National Government is not listening to his views as either the Associate Minister of Education or the Minister of Māori Affairs?
Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES Link to this
There are two answers to that question. Firstly, Victoria University took my suggestion very seriously, as did the Auckland University of Technology, and will look at it. Secondly, it is vital that we attack the problem of secondary schools not performing in terms of Māori youth. That is why I am highlighting the point that if secondary schools will not step up and deal with that problem, then we go elsewhere, such as universities, to deal with it.