Around 100 people— including Faculty of Education staff and students, invited principals, teachers and educationists—filled a lecture theatre at the Epsom campus to hear the Hon Steve Maharey, Minister of Education, deliver a speech in support of the NCEA.
Entitled "NCEA: Time to stand up for our National Qualification", the 45 minute presentation reiterated recent changes made to the examination and assessment process, including increasing the number of internally assessed standards that are moderated in schools, reporting "not achieved" results and the introduction of "merit" and "excellence" grades at certificate level.
Mr Maharey also cited successes of the NCEA, including a 10 percent increase in the number of students gaining NCEA qualifications at all three levels, and a jump in the number of Maori and Pasifika students achieving at least NCEA level two qualifications.
Following the speech, the Minister fielded questions from the audience, at times inviting NZQA Deputy Chief Executive Bali Haque to contribute to the discussions. Mr Maharey thanked all those who attended the event and paid special tribute to the principals, teachers, employers, school trustees, academic experts and students for their input and support of the NCEA.
