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Primary and pre-school teachers say poor literacy and numeracy skills are only part of the reason why one in five secondary school students leave without any qualifications.
Ministry of Education figures show that 10,000 of a total 55,000 school-leavers last year left without a formal qualification - 900 more than in 1999.
Amanda Coulston, president of the NZEI which represents primary and pre-school teachers, says primary schools are working hard to improve literacy and numeracy skills but it is an uphill battle.
Coulston says high schools also need to meet the individual needs of students if they want more to leave school with formal qualifications.
Rangitoto College principal Alan Peachey says third form students are arriving at high school less advanced in the three Rs - reading, writing and arithmetic.
But he says there is more to it than students just failing the exams.
Peachey says while school qualifications are important, his school tries to give students a good work attitude and encourages them to take individual responsibility.
While school qualifications are important, his school tries to give students a good work attitude and to take individual responsibility.
A West Coast school principal says just because one third of school-leavers in the region are without qualifications, they are not dropping out.
The West Coast of the South Island has the highest rate of such students.
But the principal at Westland High School in Hokitika says many of his students leave for jobs in forestry, mining and agriculture and do not believe school qualifications are needed.
Ross Brockbank says secondary schools on the Coast are working on ways to keep students at school, while giving them the skills they want and need.
Education Minister Trevor Mallard says that falling unemployment is a key factor in the number of students leaving school without qualifications.
Mallard says a lower unemployment rate means more jobs are available and more students opt to leave school earlier to work.
He says the government is already looking at ways to keep them at school longer, including offering suitable options and ensuring good programmes available for less-academic students.
Mallard says it is also addressing issues such as improving basic literacy skills, and reducing school suspension rates.
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