No Time For Complacency In Maori Education

new-zealand-national-party

Fri Jan 26 2007 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)

No Time For Complacency In Maori Education

Friday, 26 January 2007, 12:27 am
Press Release: New Zealand National Party

Tau Henare MP

National Party Maori Affairs Spokesman (Education & TPK)
26 January 2007

Improvements to Maori education participation and achievement are welcome but there is no room for complacency and much more needs to be done, says National Party Maori Affairs spokesman (Education & TPK) Tau Henare.

He was responding to a report on Maori achievement in the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) for 2002-2005.

“While Year 12 and 13 Maori students now have similar participation rates to their non-Maori peers, it remains a concern that participation rates for Year 11 Maori have not improved over the last two years of the study and they remain less likely to participate in the NQF than non-Maori.

“Other concerns include the fact that overall, Maori students were less likely to gain typical level NCEA qualifications than non-Maori.

“Maori were also less likely to gain a much higher number of credits in a year than that required for a qualification.

“What I’m really concerned about is that the proportion of Year 11 Maori students who did not attain any qualifications has not improved, but remained about 60%, in the three years to December 2005.

“I’m also really worried that the number of Year 11 Maori students who did not meet either the literacy or numeracy requirements (15%) has not improved over the last three years of the study. And fewer Maori students met the literacy requirement than the numeracy requirement.

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“Education provides the greatest chance Maori have to gain higher living standards. It’s vital that our tamariki get every opportunity they can, and receive the support they need to achieve their potential.

“It’s my aspiration that every Maori student can read and write by the end of Year 3. The fact that we are seeing no improvement in our Year 11 students is a tragedy and much more needs to be done.”

ENDS

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