Govt wants to scrap NCEA level one Latin

The Government is seeking public feedback on which new NCEA level one subjects should be taught and which should be merged or scrapped altogether.

The Ministry of Education (MoE) has proposed a number of changes to the Year 11 curriculum, after the Government gave the green light to a “comprehensive review” of NCEA level one.

The MoE has suggested scrapping the teaching of Latin, Classical Studies and Art History but adding a Māori Performing Arts option for students.

It has also proposed merging all sciences currently taught separately — Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Space Science — and putting them under one generic “Science” umbrella.

The proposed changes — which have gone out for public feedback until April — come after the Government confirmed it would implement what MoE described as a “comprehensive review” of NCEA level one.

“The NCEA qualification will be strengthened to help ensure teaching and learning is focused on the most important learning needed to set young people up for success,” according to MoE deputy secretary Ellen MacGregor-Reid.

Meanwhile, NCEA levels two and three would become more specialised.

The proposed changes would not impact many of the core Year 11 subjects. For example, no changes would be made to English or Maths and Statistics.

But MoE is proposing merging a number of subjects together. Economics, Business Studies and Accounting would, under the proposal, become Commerce.

Media Studies and Psychology would be brought together to become Social Studies.

The changes would not come into play until 2023.