Kura Kaupapa Māori and Māori-medium leaders are calling for a comprehensive review of proposed changes to secondary school qualifications, warning that the government’s NCEA overhaul threatens the flexibility and holistic philosophies vital to immersion settings.
The pushback comes in the wake of a research report released by the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) and analysed by Business and Economic Research Limited (BERL), which reveals that nearly 15,000 additional young people, including 4,400 Māori learners, could be put at risk of failing under the revised qualifications framework.
Proven success in Māori-medium settings
Official NZQA data shows that kura consistently punch above their weight despite operating largely within low socio-economic communities.
Kaupapa Māori students record strong NCEA achievement rates, reaching 63 percent at Level 1, 72 percent at Level 2, and 73 percent at Level 3.
Furthermore, ākonga in kaupapa Māori settings achieve a University Entrance (UE) rate of 41 percent, nearly double the 18 percent rate achieved by Māori students in comparable English-medium schools, alongside higher rates of merit and excellence endorsements.
Challenging the government’s push for a one-size-fits-all model, Rawiri Wright, chairman of Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori o Aotearoa, sharply criticises the state’s narrow approach to educational achievement.
“Ko te kāwanatanga tonu e whāiti nei i ngā kaupapa ako...ko rātou ko te state e āta tohu ana anei te marautanga e tika ake ana mō te katoa, kāore i te pērā, kaore te ao e whakaaro pērā ana.”
The Government’s Overhaul
Announced in July 2025 by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Education Minister Erica Stanford, the government’s overhaul will phase out NCEA in favour of subject-based certificates: the New Zealand Certificate of Education (NZCE) for Year 12 and the New Zealand Advanced Certificate of Education (NZACE) for Year 13.
Instead of NCEA’s flexible credit-accumulation system, where students can mix and match credits across different subjects and vocational pathways to hit a total of 80 credits, the new model shifts to a strict, subject-based structure.
It introduces traditional letter grades (ranging from A+ to E) and enforces mandatory core-subject requirements, meaning students must demonstrate broad competency across rigid, siloed academic boxes.
The impact on Kura Kaupapa and Māori-Medium settings
Māori-medium educators and leaders emphasise that the overhaul creates deep structural and philosophical conflicts.
Educators and leaders pointed out that the proposed direction is far too rigid and lacks compatibility with kaupapa Māori philosophies, warning that translation of English-medium materials is not the same as designing a curriculum from a Māori worldview.
From the student perspective, rangatahi in kura strongly favoured ongoing, internal assessment over high-stakes final examinations, warning that sudden structural changes risk disrupting their learning journeys and increasing stress.
Te Aomihia Taua-Glassie, the Māori Vice President for PPTA Te Wehengarua, says the findings reflect widespread worries about moving too fast.
“Ehara i te mea e kore mātou e tautoko ngā huringa o te wā i roto i te mātauranga...heoi anō he ōrite tonu te karanga kia āta haere te whakatinanatanga o ngā pānonitanga.”
What the wider research reveals
The report, based on analysis by Business and Economic Research Limited (BERL) for the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA), shows that in 2025, 18,238 out of 64,403 Year 12 students did not achieve NCEA Level 2.
The data revealed equity gaps linked directly to school disadvantage, where 56% of achieving students in schools whose communities have high levels of socio-economic disadvantage are now at risk under the proposed rules, compared to 36% in communities with moderate levels, and 18% in schools whose communities have lower levels of disadvantage.
The BERL report also flags financial and logistical strains for schools nationwide, with estimated implementation costs for relief teachers, leadership time, and resource mapping ranging between $49.2 million and $57.8 million.
Te Ao Māori News reached out to the Minister of Education but has not yet responded to our request for comment. Meanwhile, the new framework is expected to roll out in 2028.
