Recent statistics now show that 70% of secondary school leavers in New Zealand are opting out of going to university for their tertiary education, and of the remaining 30% that do enter university, about half will fail or leave without obtaining a qualification. Moreover, those who take on tertiary education, graduating or not, are leaving with massive levels of debt that will take many years to repay. More sobering still is the observation that, on a comparative basis, New Zealand places less emphasis on higher educational qualifications than most other first-world countries, but favours experience instead – so not a particularly positive perspective for a young graduate exiting university with a large student debt and no work experience. This is causing many school leavers and their parents (the traditional student ‘money tree’ to which I have alluded in past articles) to critically examine the quality, relevance and actual costs of the programmes that schools offer, including how well the secondary education system is preparing New Zealand students for entry into the workforce and adulthood.

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