Mixed response to open uni for Maori call

Dr Sharples says the dice are loaded against Maori. Photo / Sarah Ivey

Maori Affairs and Associate Education Minister Pita Sharples' call for open entry to university has met with a mixed response and questions over how unprepared students would perform.

In a speech yesterday Dr Sharples, who is Maori Party co-leader, said Maori should be able to go to university without any qualifications.

The idea is not government policy.

"We have seen how the dice are loaded against Maori, right through the school system," Dr Sharples said.

"That is not any reflection on the academic potential of our young people.

"Reserved places for Maori have proven the ability of Maori students to rise to the challenge if they are given the opportunity."

Dr Sharples said in 2007 only 63 per cent of young Maori men and 67 per cent of young Maori women left school with at least NCEA level one.

He said the rate for Pakeha was more than 20 percentage points higher - 83 per cent of young men and 89 per cent of young women.

Prime Minister John Key said his preference would be to resolve the underlying issues, "and that is that if young Maori are not meeting the grade for NCEA, then we need to go back to resolving the issues in relation to literacy and numeracy".

"That's why the Government's supporting its programmes in that area, rather than just letting people into university holus bolus."

University of Auckland vice-chancellor Professor Stuart McCutcheon, told Radio New Zealand a key point of secondary school was to prepare students for tertiary education.

"I think the important thing is to understand the nature of the problem here," Prof McCutcheon said.

"I think we all agree with Dr Sharples that there is a significant gap in New Zealand's education system as far as Maori and also Pacific students are concerned."

The issue was resources to get tertiary institutions and schools to work together to close the gap.

Auckland University of Technology (AUT) Maori Development Faculty history professor Paul Moon said Maori students needed to be able to meet the same standards as other students.

"It can set up students to think 'well, we get access to a course, we therefore fully intend to pass it'. And of course they might not have the right prerequisites to do that," NewstalkZB reported.

Dr Moon said Maori were increasingly involved in tertiary education.

"In the past of course there's always been the complaint of underachievement, and it has been a concern.

"But I think things are very rapidly changing and we may see in just a couple of generations that Maori that will be over-represented in universities, which will be a good thing."

AUT vice-chancellor Derek McCormack told the Herald he agreed with Dr Sharples that reserved places in universities had proven the ability of Maori students to rise to the challenge if they were given the opportunity.

The current method of capping student numbers was the problem, Prof McCormack said.

AUT's percentage of Maori students was roughly equivalent to the Maori population of the region - 10 per cent - and had a success rate of 77 per cent, while the university's overall average was 81 per cent, he said.

Jim Peters, pro vice-chancellor (Maori) at the University of Auckland, said the institution already granted access to any Maori student with university entrance but was still restricted by the Tertiary Education Commission's student funding caps.

- NZPA