More leaving school without qualifications

WELLINGTON: The number of teenagers leaving school with no qualification rose for the second consecutive year in 2019, and boys and Maori were worst affected, Education Ministry figures show.

Twelve percent of last year's school leavers did not have an NCEA qualification, up from 11% in 2018, which was the first year an increase in the statistic had been recorded.

The group represented 7464 out of more than 61,000 young people who left school last year, and numbered several hundred more than the equivalent group in 2018.

The figures showed nearly half, 3689, were Pakeha, and 3285 were Maori.

Considered by gender, more than half, 4234, were boys.

At some schools, more than 30% of school leavers last year had no qualification.

Considered by region, Gisborne had the highest rate of unqualified school leavers, at 19%, followed by Northland and Manawatu with 15% each.

However, at the level of territorial authority the percentage of school leavers with no qualification was 25% or more in Opotiki, Waimate, Ruapehu, Kawerau and Manurewa.

Wellington had the lowest percentage of unqualified school leavers, at 8%, followed by Nelson and Otago on 9%.

A quarter of the teens who left decile 1 schools, and a fifth of those leaving decile 2 schools had no qualification, as did 14% of boys and 22% of Maori.

A report on the figures said there was a lot of variation between schools.

‘‘Some decile 1 and 2 schools have pass rates that exceed rates at some decile 9 and 10 schools,’’ the report said.

The president of the Secondary Principals' Association, Deidre Shea, said the increase in unqualified school leavers was worrying.

‘‘Certainly the trend's going the wrong way, isn't it? Looking at the data on a national level, the number of leavers without qualifications at each of the [NCEA] levels seems to be on a slightly downward trend. It isn't a lot but it's enough that the trend is of concern,’’ she said.

She did not know what was causing the problem, but said it could be linked to increasing rates of absenteeism.

‘‘The ministry has been concerned for a little while about the decreasing number of students, or proportion of students, who attend school regularly over the last few years,’’ she said.

Ms Shea said she expected changes to the NCEA qualification would rectify the problem by making it a more motivating qualification for teenagers.

The Education Ministry's acting group manager of secondarytertiary, Richard D'Ath, said the reasons for young people leaving school before attaining a qualification varied, but the labour market had been strong and this might have led some young people to leave school early to enter the workforce, he said. — RNZ

❛ Certainly the trend's going the wrong way, isn't it?