77. Wharekura (Maori medium secondary schools), particularly at the senior secondary school level, are encountering difficulties because subject specialist teachers with fluency in te reo Maori are not readily available. Senior secondary students in wharekura have, until now, been compelled to access print-based materials in English through The Correspondence School. Teaching and learning materials in te reo Maori for the senior secondary school to support the curriculum are limited. It has therefore been proposed that videoconferencing, with its potential for interaction between teacher and student, be trialed in the wharekura to enable students to have access to a quality education.

78. Approaches have been made to telecommunication companies to allow wharekura to access sufficient bandwidth (128 kilobytes) for videoconferencing. To date, 7 of the 14 wharekura have access to sufficient bandwidth for videoconferencing. The current telecommunications network appears to be unable to supply the required bandwidth for the remaining wharekura which are located in Kaitaia, Rotorua, Whakatane, Waiohau, Dannevirke, Otaki and Invercargill.

79. Telecom has indicated that it will begin moving into wireless technology within the next few months. Its previous energies have been geared towards establishing ISDN and then ADSL, both of which would have sufficient bandwidth for videoconferencing to take place. ISDN and ADSL are high-speed digital telephone services. The coverage of ADSL is confined to small parts of large urban areas. Despite ISDN's wider coverage, Telecom has indicated that ISDN will not be available for all wharekura because of the functionality requirements and associated costs, and its commitment to develop other parts of the network.

80. The Ministry of Education is continuing to discuss this issue with Telecom. However, alternate solutions have not yet been identified because other technologies with adequate bandwidth for the required level of interaction do not provide sufficient coverage to rural areas.

Tertiary education and training

81. The tertiary education and training sector encompasses all formal and non-formal learning outside the school system. This includes learning at all levels within public tertiary institutions (i.e. polytechnics, colleges of education, wananga and universities), programmes provided by private and government training establishments, business-based education, industry training, and all lifelong learning beyond the compulsory school system.

82. While no firm data exists, it is understood that most tertiary education providers offer students access to computers and the internet. The level of ICT support available to students is unknown, but is likely to differ across the sector. The range of ICT training opportunities offered across the tertiary education sector is diverse, and varies from basic computer skills through to computer graphics and software engineering. The level at which these training opportunities are offered ranges from unit standards to post-graduate qualifications.

83. The extent to which tertiary education providers utilise ICTs also varies. While many tertiary education providers now use ICTs for administration and the distribution of materials, other providers are using and developing ICT capability in delivering education and training. One example is Massey University's college of education, which produced its first batch of teaching graduates who had completed their three-year degree entirely over the Internet earlier this year.

84. While there is significant potential for ICTs to be used in distance education, around 95% of distance education is still print-based. The pedagogy required for the effective use of ICTs in the delivery of education and training is still evolving, and the learning styles and preferences of learners still appear to favour print-based media.

85. The courses and qualifications offered by tertiary education providers are determined by individual providers, and therefore ICT developments to date have been driven by individual tertiary education providers.

86. There does not appear to be reliable data available on the ethnic breakdown of subjects studied for tertiary qualifications. However, there are some partial pieces of information on this
    • A Skill New Zealand report on innovative Maori skills Training and Enterprises (Te Utunga I te Wero, Meeting the Challenge) recognises the importance of Maori developing ICT skills.

    • Responses to community hui held in Gisborne on 9th August 2000 suggest that ICT training was a concern for a majority of Maori. It was indicated that there are not sufficient training resources in the region.

    • The perceived importance of up-skilling Maori to participate in the knowledge economy can be seen in use of Treaty of Waitangi settlement funds to provide tertiary education scholarships. Other examples of iwi-based initiatives are the establishment of Wananga IT courses and the policy of the Wananga o Raukawa requiring all students to purchase Internet capable computers. A Maori Information Technology Council has also recently been established, in response to the low level of Maori involvement in the information technology and telecommunications industry.

87. The skills of Maori school-leavers and graduates are of crucial importance to the growth of Maori participation in knowledge industries. In particular, qualifications in the sciences and mathematics are often essential starting points for careers in technology-based industries.

88. In 1997 only 70% of Maori students who sat at least one School Certificate paper took a sciences subject, and only 64.5% sat a mathematics exam. These can be compared to markedly higher rates for non-Maori students. Furthermore, only 59% of Maori 15 year old students sat any school certificate subjects, compared to 74% of non-Maori 15 year olds.

89. The problem of low participation in technical courses by Maori students is also reflected in tertiary education enrolments. In 1997 Maori were disproportionately over-enrolled in Training Opportunities Programme (TOP), fishery, and forestry courses, and were under-represented in engineering and science courses (Maori representation would be proportional if each course ratio was 15:100).

Ratio of Maori:non-Maori tertiary enrolments by field of study, 1997
Number of Maori to every 100 non-Maori enrolees	Ratio
Under-represented
Engineering	5.2:100
Science	6.6:100
Commerce	9.5:100
Over-represented
Forestry	39.4:100
TOP	41.4:100
Foundation programmes	45.2:100
Fishery	144.7:100
All tertiary programmes	13.4:100

90. These results flow on to employment in "knowledge industries", in which Maori are generally under-represented. For example, at the time of the 1996 Census a total of 4,266 Maori were employed in industries that could be described as 'knowledge-based'. This figure represented 6.8% of estimated New Zealand employment in these industries. Relative to the total population²⁵ Maori are under-represented in all these industries, and are particularly under represented in scientific research, technical services, and computer services.

Maori employment in knowledge-based industries
Industry (ANZSIC 96 - level 3)	Maori	Total	Maori employed (%)
Scientific research	276	6,231	4.4
Technical services	759	16,536	4.6
Computer services	579	10,314	5.6
Libraries	192	3,021	6.4
Electronic equipment manufacturing	264	3,264	8.1
Telecommunication services	810	9,744	8.3
Film & video services	306	3,177	9.6
Arts	312	3,198	9.8
Radio & television services	489	4,632	10.6
Services to the arts	129	1,149	11.2
Museums	150	1,305	11.5
Total	4,266	62,571	6.8

Source: 1996 Census, Statistics New Zealand

Other information on skills and training

91. The MPIA/Commerce consultation with Pacific communities found that Pacific peoples generally feature in low numbers in courses such as mathematics, sciences and computing. This is slowly changing.

92. Lack of skills does not seem to be an issue for the early adopters of ICT in the farming population. This was supported by the attendees at a Federated Farmers Waikato Branch Executive Meeting at the end of August, who indicated that farmers had no trouble picking up the skills they needed. However, lack of skills may be holding back those who have yet to utilise ICT.

93. Research carried out by the National Library in 1998 on public access to the Internet in New Zealand public libraries found that the following aspects were "inadequate" or had "some gaps/problems/difficulties shortcomings":
    • IT training of staff.

    • Internet search training.

    • staff time/resources to support users.

    • staff training for training the public.

94. Feedback to DIA has included the following comment: "Isolated rural communities are most in need of support [what about]..a mobile resource unit with online support from this [email] network .. to train, promote, support community members". In addition, DIA's community development advisors have identified skill barriers to community groups getting online, including limited access to training, helpdesk services and hardware support.

Attitudes towards ICT

95. Earlier this year, the Ministry of Research, Science and Technology commissioned CM Research to carry out quantitative and qualitative research into public attitudes towards science and technology (S&T). While this is not the same thing as ICT, it was interesting to note that many people strongly equated technology with computers, and therefore, some conclusions can be drawn from this research about attitudes towards ICT.

96. While around 90% of people felt that science and technology was "quite important" or "very important" to the future of New Zealand, only 73% felt that it was important to them personally.

97. The research identifies four audience segments, with differing attitudes towards science and technology, and different demographics:
    • Segment 1 - 22% of the population, high representation of those living outside main urban areas, Maori, those whose highest education level is secondary school, youth and very low incomes. This segment values a good education system and low unemployment as important to future well-being, values S&T's contribution at both societal and individual level, and was particularly conscious of its contribution to "future/younger generations".

    • Segment 2 - 15% of the population, high representation of very low income groups (and those who refused to disclose income or didn't know) and those not in paid employment. This segment values a good education and health system, do not widely value S&T's contribution to New Zealand or themselves personally, have some belief that S&T is "important to New Zealand's future" but are unsure what contribution it makes, and remain to be convinced that S&T work is well paid and makes people's lives easier.

    • Segment 3 - 47% of the population, high representation of those living in main urban areas, Pakeha, those with a university education and high incomes. This segment values a strong economy foremost, values S&T's contribution to New Zealand at all levels, and is particularly conscious of its contribution to our international competitiveness.

    • Segment 4 - 16% of the population, high representation of women, Pacific people, Asians and "other" ethnic groups, those working in paid employment and middle socio-economic groups. This segment values a good education and health system, values S&T's contribution to New Zealand, but remains to be convinced that S&T work is well paid, abundant and offers a good long-term career.

98. Focus group discussions identified the following positive and negative associations that the general public made with "technology".