NZQA investigated 876 reported breaches of external assessments last year. Photo / 123RF
There are questions about whether New Zealand’s education sector can keep up with a world that is constantly changing.
Education officials are attempting to crack down on the use of artificial intelligence in NCEA exams, after a rise in substantiated breaches last year.
It’s an extra challenge for schools on top of other issues that have emerged since the Covid pandemic, like a decline in students’ mental health.
Newstalk ZB education reporter Jaime Cunningham told The Front Page NZQA investigated 876 reported breaches of external assessments last year - 738 were substantiated.
“Authenticity was the most common type of breach in 2024, with 209 reported cases. Use of AI was identified as a breach type by NZQA for the first time,” she said.
Secondary Principals’ Association president Vaughan Couillault believes some of the authenticity cases likely involved AI.
“It’s easier to identify when a student has miraculously produced some piece of work that’s so different from the rest of their work throughout the year.
“But it is hard to know when the AI is being used, and students use it in an exam when they possibly don’t need to, but they’re just relying on another tool to help them get a better grade,” Cunningham said.
Cunningham said more students with mental health issues are turning to distance learning at correspondence school, Te Kura.
“They’ve just had exponential growth since 2018. They’ve had 32% more enrolments since then. So, from 21,000 to 31,000.
“Te Kura is pointing it towards more students with mental health issues and social anxiety really wanting a different type of education to help them and make sure they’re still getting some kind of learning.
“They do reckon it’s partly due to Covid. Possibly more students realised the benefits of learning online and really enjoyed it. That’s why perhaps there have been more students, particularly in the year nine to 13 age group,” she said.
Students need to meet the Ministry of Education’s eligibility criteria to enrol.
This includes students who have families living overseas, have been referred for their engagement and wellbeing, are pregnant or young parents, or elite athletes.
Schools will be keeping a close eye on Budget 2025, which is set to be released later today.
Already, Associate Education Minister David Seymour has earmarked $140 million over four years for lifting school attendance.
Most of this funding – $123m – will go towards establishing a new attendance service, based on recommendations from a 2024 report from the Education Review Office (ERO). The remaining $17m will go towards strengthening existing frontline attendance services.
Listen to the full episode to hear more about the woes facing our education sector.
The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. The podcast is presented by Chelsea Daniels, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in world news and crime/justice reporting who joined NZME in 2016.
You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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