KEY POINTS:
The rate of suspensions of Island students has risen 20 per cent in the past six years, a report says.
The first monitoring report of the Pasifika Education Plan, which maps out goals to improve education of Pacific Islanders in New Zealand to 2010, found the suspension rate was the only ethnically based one to rise among students in 2006.
However, Education Minister Steve Maharey said the report showed the sector overall was heading in the right direction.
"The number of Pasifika children in early childhood education, the percentage of Pasifika children leaving school with NCEA level two, and the number of Pasifika people in tertiary education and modern apprenticeships are growing faster than for any other group," he said.
"We're going to keep working with Pasifika communities to lower the suspension rate, meet teacher registration targets in Pasifika early childhood education, and lift participation in modern apprenticeships and level 4 industry training."
The Ministry of Education aims to reduce the suspension rate of Pasifika students by 20 per cent over the next three years.
While the rate of suspensions among Maori and NZ European students dropped by about 20 per cent in the past five years, the Pasifika rate went up and, last year, was 10.6 per 1000 students, up from 9.4 a year earlier.
It is lower than the Maori rate of 15.6 last year and more than double the NZ European rate of 4.4.
The Asian rate is lowest at 1.3.
The rate has been standardised to account for the different distribution of ages of students in the various groups.
Ben Taufua, president of Pacific People School Trustees Aotearoa, said the suspension rate could not be viewed in isolation as it linked in with struggling students.
"If they are doing poorly in reading, doing poorly in maths, doing poorly in school, they become disruptive in class," said Mr Taufua.
"When you line it all up, we can't be surprised."
The School Trustees Association board member said support for students at schools was the key to turning the figures around.
Robin Staples, director of the Southern Cross Campus in Mangere, was surprised by the increase, saying initiatives in the suburb, such as more social workers linked with schools, had calmed an unsettled feeling there.
Most Southern Cross students are of Pacific Island descent.
Mr Staples said Southern Cross aimed to keep students in school by using stand-downs as a punishment rather than the more serious suspension.
The next Pasifika Education Plan monitoring report will be released next February.
