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The education sector is slamming what it calls a “one-size-fits-all” approach to Government reforms.

The Government plans to scrap NCEA, replacing it with a new qualification system that includes new subjects and places greater emphasis on artificial intelligence.

Education Minister Erica Stanford has also confirmed the $118 million Kāhui Ako programme will be cut from next year.

The initiative brings schools together to tackle common challenges, with additional pay for participating teachers and principals.

Other cuts include the Resource Teachers of Literacy and Māori service – affecting about 174 roles – and the scrapping of open-plan classrooms, which Stanford says aren’t “meeting the needs of students.”

New Zealand’s largest teachers’ union, NZEI, has taken the Government to court over the changes to these roles.

Sector leaders warn the blanket changes risk disadvantaging already vulnerable students, and say strong parts of the system are being dumped unnecessarily.

But Stanford said the changes are grounded in evidence and in response to what the sector have been calling for.

Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) President Chris Abercrombie says the reforms ignore how differently students learn.

“Many of the changes the current Government is making don’t seem to acknowledge individual learning needs, the fact that children and young people learn differently, and the fact that there is no such thing as a level playing field for students – some kids are hugely disadvantaged compared with others,” he said.

Abercrombie admits no system is perfect and initiatives should be regularly reviewed, but argues the current approach goes too far.

He said the previous Government made significant changes to both the curriculum and NCEA with strong teacher input – but warned Chris Luxon’s Government is at serious risk of “throwing the baby out with the bathwater.”

“Secondary teachers have been the guardians of NCEA over many years, because we can see the undoubted benefits for students. We fear the proposed changes to NCEA, for example, will reduce achievement in the most disadvantaged communities.”

Stanford said the proposal to replace NCEA went through a consultation process, resulting in over 8,200 submissions.

“Officials are analysing responses to understand which areas of the proposed changes need further investigation. They are planning for further sector engagement to test areas as needed and get the sector’s further input into the design, before final decisions are made.”

Stanford said the sector called for more investment in learning support, and a once in a generation boost was included in this year’s Budget.

“To help fund this we listened to the sector about its views on Kahui Ako and the evidence that it wasn’t delivering better outcomes for children.”

“We will not waiver from continuing to invest to raise achievement and close the equity gap in schools across the country.”

NZEI Delegate Liam Rutherford said the Government’s narrow view of education is out of step with expert advice.

“They’ve gone really heavily down this knowledge-only approach, which is a massive swing of the pendulum.”

“It seems to be at odds with really important ideas like, problem solving, creativity, teamwork, those skills, that we know future employers are going to need, and we want to see in our kids, seem to be missing in action in the government’s approach, to curriculum.”

The Secondary Principals’ Association adds schools won’t cope unless they’re properly resourced.

“Implementation timelines need to allow time for changes to be embedded. Changes need to be communicated clearly and timely, with quality professional learning development and resources available to all teachers and schools,” President Louise Anaru said.

Rutherford believes there are things that have worked really well in the current system.

“We’ve got parts of the Kāhui Ako system where you’ve got schools working together, that just ceases to exist from the start of next year.”

“What we’re continually hearing from the sector is that the Government’s just not listening. They seem to be very ideologically driven, in what they’re trying to push through,” he added.

“And at the end of the day, it’s going to be people working in education and children that are missing out because they seem to be a bit blind to holding on to the things that are working well.”

Jaime Cunningham is a Christchurch-based reporter with a focus on education, social issues and general news. She joined ��һ�ǿ�����talk ZB in 2023, after working as a sports reporter at the Christchurch Star.