If the proposal goes ahead, secondary schools will begin shifting away from NCEA from 2028 and year 11 students will face new compulsory literacy and maths tests with new national qualifications for years 12-13 rolled out by 2030.
Milton’s Tokomairiro School principal Victoria Wish said New Zealand’s NCEA was "quite a departure" from the system she had experience with in the UK.
"Initially, I found NCEA something of a mystery," she said.
"It took time to get my head around, and I can completely understand why employers, especially those who were educated before NCEA or who have moved to New Zealand, sometimes struggle to interpret the qualification.
"I imagine that it’s the same for students who travel overseas and are trying to explain their achievements.
"While we’ve now seen some broad proposals for a future replacement to NCEA, there’s still a lot of detail yet to be clarified.
"The consultation process will be important in surfacing the questions that still need to be answered."
Tapanui’s Blue Mountain College principal Janelle Eason said she was cautiously optimistic about the changes as long as promised support was given and there were still vocational pathways provisions for students.
Education Minister Erica Stanford and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced the proposal earlier this month, saying the change was designed to create a more consistent and reliable system that better prepares students for life after school, while reducing confusion for families and employers and providing a clearer picture of what students know and can do.
Government officials say evidence shows NCEA has become too complex, encouraging students to focus on simply gaining credits rather than building the skills needed for further study, training, or work.
A local man who went to high school before moving to Clutha described his NCEA experience from about 15 years ago.
"At the end of the year they got a load of us that weren’t really into school into some classrooms [and] got us reading along with all these handouts then filling out tests ... Apparently we were getting credits and passing, but there’s no way anybody was learning or remembering anything that day," he said.
The NCEA announcement is part of a broader package of education reforms already under way at earlier year levels, including structured literacy and maths programmes, daily reading, writing and maths requirements, and a ban on mobile phones in classrooms.
The prime minister said the aim was to give young people the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in a modern economy.
The education minister said the new approach would raise standards while ensuring every student had clear pathways into trades, university, or direct employment.
The full proposal is on the government’s Ministry of Education website, where anybody can submit feedback until September 15.
