Changes to NCEA cop backlash

Teachers of subjects as diverse as physics, Latin and economics are united in their rejection of proposed changes to level 1 of the NCEA school qualification.

The Ministry of Education has proposed dropping several subjects from NCEA level 1 in order to make it a foundation qualification with fewer achievement standards covering a broader range of content.

For science that means dropping physics, chemistry, biology and earth and space science from level 1 and retaining just science and agricultural and horticultural science.

Latin would be dropped from all levels of NCEA, classics would be dropped at level 1 in favour of a single history subject, and accounting, economics and business studies would be replaced by a single subject called commerce.

Secondary Chemistry Teachers of New Zealand co-chairperson, Ian Torrie, said members’ reaction to the plan was strong with about 96 per cent of feedback to the association against the plans.

Torrie said the proposal would leave science with just four level 1 achievement standards covering the ideas that underpin the subject, but not specific knowledge about subjects like physics and chemistry.

He also said science was being cut from six subjects at level 1 to just two, while much smaller cuts or none at all were proposed for other learning areas.

‘‘We’re concerned that future students will be able to choose a course from 10 languages, five arts, five social sciences, four technologies but there’s only one science subject that they can do,’’ he said.

‘‘We’re really concerned that this will have huge impacts on future numbers of science, engineering and medical graduates.’’

Association of Classical Teachers president, Rob Griffiths, said its members were outraged by the proposal.

He said many students studied classics at level 1 and dropping it in favour of a foundational history course was ironic.

‘‘Classics is a broad foundational subject that introduces students to the history of Western civilisation.

‘‘It touches on art, literature, philosophy, religion and we just don’t understand why the subject which is probably the very definition of the foundations of Western literature and Western education would be chopped,’’ he said.

The plan to drop Latin from all levels of the NCEA was likely to kill the subject entirely, he said.

Consultation on the proposed subject changes closes on 20 April. – RNZ