English Bill: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
English Bill: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:623;Page:18321] 
5.  
Hon BILL ENGLISH (National—Clutha-Southland) 
 to the  
Associate Minister of Education 
: Does he stand by his statement that an analysis into NCEA scholarship results will be given priority; if so how will he conduct the investigation if the New Zealand Qualifications Authority will not release results until April? 
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE (Associate Minister of Education) 
: 
 Yes I can confirm that I have asked for a report and that it will be given priority. The release of results by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority is a matter for the authority but I understand that it is following a schedule in that regard which has been notified to students and schools well in advance. 
Hon Bill English 
: Has the Minister seen any or all of the official interim results for National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) scholarship; if so do the results he has seen confirm public rumours that there are very few scholarships in the sciences and substantial numbers of scholarships in other subjects—for instance nine out of 1000 biology students achieving scholarship and 300 out of 900 English students achieving scholarship? 
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE 
: Clearly I have seen some such information but I have asked for a report and I believe the appropriate time to draw relevant conclusions is when I have received the report and considered it not before then. 
Hon Brian Donnelly 
: Can the Minister explain how if only 8 percent of candidates got scholarships in chemistry less than 1 percent in biology but 33 percent in English as reported it is possible to fairly work out who is the top performer and award that person $45000 when such success is dependent so heavily on the subjects he or she has taken? 
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE 
: Decisions about such speculation would be more appropriately made I am sure the questioner would agree when full information is available. 
Hon Bill English 
: Given that the New Zealand Qualifications Authority has already released all individual results to individuals and that this week it is releasing all school results to schools what is the reason why it cannot release the national interim results to the public so that we can deal with the kind of speculation that is so damaging to this exam and that undermines the credibility of the $3 million of awards the Government intends to make based on shonky exam results? 
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE 
: I am sure that as much information as the questioner requires will be available in due course. I do not subscribe to the accusations he makes about either shonky exam results or the NCEA. I think that most New Zealanders and certainly most of the students involved in those examinations would want any consideration of the results to be done on the basis of full and timely information. 
Hon Bill English 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. My question was quite specific. It asked what the reason is why the New Zealand Qualifications Authority will not release the national interim results. The Minister did not address that matter at all. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The Minister could address that matter. 
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE 
: I understand that schools will be receiving the interim results within a few days. 
Hon Bill English 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. My question was: why does the New Zealand Qualifications Authority not release the national interim scholarship results? In fact in the question I referred to the fact that the schools are getting the results. He has still not addressed the question. Why will the New Zealand Qualifications Authority not release the national interim scholarship results? He knows what I mean and he can easily answer the question. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: That specific point can be answered by the Minister. 
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE 
: It is my understanding that the national profile is included with the schools’ results. 
Hon Bill English 
: Can the Minister not understand that those who put their hearts into these scholarship exams in a belief that they represented New Zealand’s premier academic qualification are day by day watching the credibility of their achievement go down the drain because he is playing a stupid game of spin with an incompetent public agency instead of telling us the truth which he has on his desk and the New Zealand Qualifications Authority has known since December? 
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE 
: Of course I am concerned about the integrity of the results. 
Hon Bill English 
: Well release the results. 
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE 
: It might help if Mr English listened. [ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The Minister is entitled to deliver an answer. 
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE 
: That is why I have asked the ministry to provide me with a report which is not yet in my office.