Whanganui educators voice concerns over NCEA overhaul

From 2028, Year 11 students will take foundational literacy and numeracy tests. Photo / 123rf

Whanganui educators are left with uncertainty after the Government’s announcement on changes to the NCEA system for secondary school students.

“We’ve got more questions than answers,” Whanganui City College principal Peter Kaua said.

The proposal, announced by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Education Minister Erica Stanford on Monday, outlined a complete overhaul of the NCEA system and replacement with two new qualifications at Years 12 and 13.

The aim of the new system is to reduce the flexibility of the qualifications to better ensure consistency of foundational skills, clearer performance grades out of 100 on an A to E letter system, along with a revised curriculum. The proposal also suggested raising the school leaving age from 16 to 17.

The Government said the changes were in the interest of Kiwi students but some educators said they were sceptical of the efficacy and clarity of the new system.

“The thing that worries me most is the workload of our current teachers,” Kaua said.

Whanganui City College principal Peter Kaua.

Having gone through recent changes, such as implementing the new Level 1 curriculum in the past year, he was worried there would be significant pressure on teachers without adequate support or resources, potentially leading to burnout.

Kaua was also concerned about the lack of clarity in the proposal.

“We have the broad strokes … but what would it look like?”

Post Primary Teachers Association (PPTA) Manawatū-Whanganui chairwoman Tanya Sherborne believed many of the potential issues with the new plan stemmed from a lack of consultation with educators in crafting it.

She was concerned that the new system’s emphasis on being more “subject-based” would require more staffing and put further strain on the existing teacher shortages.

“It is really important that students are not pushed into a pathway or stuck on one track just because it is easier to staff or resource,” Sherborne said.

“Otherwise, we risk limiting [students’] opportunities instead of expanding them”.

Kaua said he feared the emphasis on testing may lead to a system emblematic of the one before NCEA, with potential for manipulated grading curves, long turnaround times on test results and divergent outcomes between different student tracks.

“Will industry-aligned standards be a way of discriminating between academic and vocational pathways?” he said.

Rangitīkei College principal Penny Keet shared those concerns about the rigidity of the new proposed system and how that could negatively impact students.

Rangitīkei College principal Penny Keet.

“I think the biggest concern around the proposal is for students who do struggle at school, and students who want to be on a vocational pathway,” Keet said.

She agreed with the Government that there were issues around the level of flexibility in the NCEA system, but had concerns over the new system being too structured.

“The [new] plan is definitely set up for students who generally do well at school,” she said.

“I think there are some schools that will adopt the changes really well, and that it will suit them quite nicely. But I think there are other schools, particularly schools that traditionally are low-decile schools [that] are going to struggle a little bit.”

Sherborne said educators wanted a system that worked for all learners and put students at the centre.

“NCEA has done that better than what came before, and there is a lot that is worth holding on to and improving.”

The new plan is open for consultation until September, when the Government will make final decisions, and it aims to roll out the new system over the next five years.

“We will have to follow our consultation process and make as many submissions and ask as many questions as possible,” Kaua said.

Sherborne said teachers in Whanganui were ready to be part of the consultation “and we hope it is a real one, where our concerns are genuinely heard and acted on”.