Maori Affairs and Associate Education Minister Pita Sharples'
call for open entry to university has met with a mixed
response and questions over how unprepared students would
perform.
In a speech yesterday Dr Sharples, who is Maori Party
co-leader, said Maori should be able to go to university
without any qualifications.
The idea is not government policy.
"We have seen how the dice are loaded against Maori, right
through the school system," Dr Sharples said.
"That is not any reflection on the academic potential of our
young people.
"Reserved places for Maori have proven the ability of Maori
students to rise to the challenge if they are given the
opportunity."
Dr Sharples said the dice were loaded against Maori. In 2007
only 63 percent of young Maori men and 67 percent of young
Maori women left school with at least NCEA level one.
He said the rate for Pakeha was more than 20 percentage
points higher -- 83 percent of young men and 89 percent of
young women.
University of Auckland vice-chancellor Professor Stuart
McCutcheon, told Radio New Zealand a key point of secondary
school was to prepare students for tertiary education.
"I think the important thing is to understand the nature of
the problem here," Prof McCutcheon said.
"I think we all agree with Dr Sharples that there is a
significant gap in New Zealand's education system as far as
Maori and also Pacific students are concerned."
The issue was resources to get tertiary institutions and
schools to work together to close the gap.
Auckland University of Technology (AUT) Maori Development
Faculty history professor Paul Moon said Maori students
needed to be able to meet the same standards as other
students.
"It can set up students to think `well, we get access to a
course, we therefore fully intend to pass it'. And of course
they might not have the right prerequisites to do that,"
NewstalkZB reported.
Dr Moon said Maori were increasingly involved in tertiary
education.
"In the past of course there's always been the complaint of
underachievement, and it has been a concern.
"But I think things are very rapidly changing and we may see
in just a couple of generations that Maori that will be
over-represented in universities, which will be a good
thing."
AUT vice-chancellor Derek McCormack told the New Zealand
Herald he agreed with Dr Sharples that reserved places in
universities had proven the ability of Maori students to rise
to the challenge if they were given the opportunity.
The current method of capping student numbers was the
problem, Prof McCormack said.
AUT's percentage of Maori students was roughly equivalent to
the Maori population of the region -- 10 percent -- and had a
success rate of 77 percent, while the university's overall
average was 81 percent, he said.
Maori access to university
Personally I incline toward allowing open access to Maori at University. I understand that many people (mostly past and present students) would like to preserve the aura of elitism that limited access provides, but in my opinion universities lost that a couple of decades ago when they were told to play by the rules of the market economy, which in tertiary terms means putting bums on seats. I can recall when a couple of departments at Otago were threatened with closure because they were unable to attract sufficient numbers of students to justify their existance and as I recall the university lost it's Russian department on those grounds. So much for the sanctity of university learning.
So rather than all this precious talk about preserving standards I'd like to see a bit more raw pragmatism. Ask yourself the question 'is it in New Zealand's national interest that more Maori become doctors?' Yes, it probably is. Teachers? More than likely. Nurses, engineers, librarians, and art historians? All probably yes, and why? Because when parents are educated then it's more likely their kids will be educated, and education is one of those core things (along with mum and dad staying together) that builds a healthy community. I think open Maori access to university would be a pragmatic move that may help reduce all those horrible statistics in which Maori have been over-represented for so long.
Another reality is that an awful lot of kids, Maori and otherwise, under-perform at school. Many kids don't get the chance to bloom until long after they've left. I was pleased to read on the Otago University homepage that they have made allowances for people aged 20 and over to attend.
Dehurdling tertiary education for Maori
If this proposal goes ahead, the next argument will be that the dice are loaded against Maori performing well at university so they should be automatically given open access to postgraduate programmes, and so on and so on. Why not short-curcuit the Maori Party's escalating demands and immediately open negotiations with the University of Oxford to ensure that all Maori who enrol at a university are awarded a Rhodes Scholarship? Or maybe that won't suffice.......
Dumb - dumb - dumb
University entrance must not be 'dumbed-down' in a futile attempt to assist one group. Pushing them into situations they are ill-equipped for and bound to fail at will also lead to inefficiencies and devalued qualifications. A group's education problems must be treated at the source, in the home when the children are young. They need good role models - parents who themselves are always trying to educate and better themselves. Children imitate their elders.
Is this a joke?
What is the incentive for Maori to pass at school if there is open entry? Why should they even do exams? If you can't pass high school how are you going to pass tertiary level study? If anything, invest more at the secondary level to help more Maori make the tertiary grade. Instead of handing over a free ticket that all other secondary school student's have to work for. It is pure discrimination.
Access for all
Racially based policies are not helpful to anyone. Academic standards must be maintained in Universities and all individuals have an opportunity to attend. You meet the crieria, you enter. With the government setting funding criteria on degree completions, this type of policy could be potential suicide for any university agreeing to open entry.