Entrance tests will slash Maori choice
Tuesday 23rd August, 2011
A Maori student leader is warning that new entry requirements could squeeze Maori out of university.
Jacqueline Poutu from Mana Akonga, the Maori Tertiary Students Association, says the requirement from 2014 that university entrants need NCEA level 3 and higher literacy and numeracy standards will affect many Maori, because the school system isn't equipping them for higher level tertiary study.
She says it could have a devastating effect on a generation of Maori.
“If your child isn’t able to get into university because they have a particular dream they want to chase, the only door open to them is private training establishments so that’s like school of hospitality or school of hairdressing which cost an arm and a leg or they go to a wananga, a polytechnic or an institute of technology,” Ms Poutu says.
Many Maori pupils don't realise how the subjects they choose in the earlier levels of NCEA can affect their career prospects.
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