Professor slams dumbing down of education skills

Many commerce students cannot write a coherent sentence or do simple mental arithmetic, Victoria University professor Don Trow says.

Though the top students were "superb", nearly half their counterparts had neither the ability nor the work ethic to get a good degree, said the accountancy professor, who has taught at the university for 35 years.

Some students were below par because university entry requirements had been lowered, he said. Also, some schools allowed students to just get by rather than excel.

The pressure low-quality students put on teachers diverted their attention from better students and teachers frustrated by this could get better salaries in the commercial sector.

This was a high cost to pay for the "dumbing down" of education standards, Professor Trow said. It also was a further significant cost to the taxpayer, "who contributed a large amount to finance this fruitless activity".

Education officials and schools should put more emphasis on basic mathematics and written and verbal skills, he said.

Wellington Regional Chamber of Commerce chief executive Phil Lewin said he had met commerce graduates who were "functionally illiterate".

Education Ministry literacy and numeracy manager Anne Alkema said projects developing basic skills such as multiplication and reading comprehension would soon be extended from primary schools to secondary schools.

Professor Pat Walsh, dean of Victoria's commerce and administration faculty, said his colleague's observations probably reflected the impact of rapid growth in tertiary education participation during the past five to 10 years. As numbers expanded, the "average quality" of student declined.

"The upside of this is that many students who would not perhaps have gone to university are there."

- NZPA