Students cop $9.8m exam fees

Kiwi students are being priced out of higher education and employment by NCEA fees and course-related costs, according to a human rights watchdog that has called on taxpayers to pick up the tab.

The call from international advocacy group Human Rights Watch comes after Kiwi parents and caregivers collectively spent $9.8 million on NCEA levels one, two and three fees in 2016 for 140,517 domestic students.

Those costs adversely affected high school students’ ability to access a free education, quashing their right to equal opportunity, the group said in a submission to the Government’s NCEA review.

It recommended the Government ‘‘remove barriers’’ to students’ future educational and work opportunities by scrapping qualification charges. It also said ‘‘all schools should have sufficient funding to cover courserelated materials’’.

Data released by education fund provider ASG earlier this year showed the cost of education in New Zealand had increased over the past 10 years.

Parents of students at state schools could expect to pay almost $30,000 in non-fee education costs over their 13 years in the system, while at private

‘‘. . . all schools should have sufficient funding to cover course-related materials.’’ Human Rights Watch

schools that rises to almost $55,000. Much of that cost was made up of incidentals, such as uniforms, text books and technology, with more schools either expecting students to bring devices, or imposing technology charges on children using iPads in class.

The New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) charges domestic students a $76.70 NCEA entry fee per year, and a maximum of $200 per family with two or more children.

‘‘Charging an examination fee directly affects students’ ability to obtain the certificate that is required for access to further studies and to employment,’’ Human Rights Watch said.

Options existed for scholarships and financial assistance. But the group said financial support that offered students qualifications free of charge ‘‘creates inequity between students’’, because there would be others

still required to pay.

Parents or caregivers who missed payment deadlines were penalised $50 – more than half the original fee. After a missed payment, students on financial assistance had to fork out $126.70.

The watchdog also found there was an indirect impact of school costs on students’ access to their education. That is because some have been forced to find external funding to pay for the required materials in subjects like woodwork, metalwork and home economics, because they are under pressure to shun donations.

‘‘There are some families who say we can’t study this because we can’t afford to pay what it costs to do that course,’’ a rural decile six school official said.

Education Minister Chris Hipkins said he was was not in a position to comment on the Human Rights Watch submission until he had the opportunity to consider all submissions on the Government’s NCEA review and form an overall opinion.

Ellen MacGregor-Reid, the Ministry of Education’s early learning and student achievement deputy secretary, said it had received 6000 survey results from students, teachers and principals since May 27, for its NCEA review.

‘‘We’re really pleased with the engagement we’ve had from young people in particular, who’ve made up over a quarter of survey responses, and from teachers and principals also.’’

Human Rights Watch spoke to 33 secondary schools in rural and urban areas across the country, ranging from deciles one to eight, before making its submission.

‘‘All children have the right to access a quality education on the basis of equal opportunity under international human rights law to which New Zealand is bound.’’