45660 (2025). Hon Willow-Jean Prime to the Minister of Education

45660 (2025). Hon Willow-Jean Prime to the Minister of Education: What was the rationale, if any, for removing Environment and Societies from the senior secondary school Subject List released on 11 September 2025?

Hon Erica Stanford: Although it was included on the 2021 NCEA subject list, Environment and Societies was not fully developed or implemented and is not a current NCEA subject. Environment and Societies was planned as a replacement for the current Education for Sustainability subject, which has low demand. Key learning about the environment and sustainability is best incorporated in other subjects, particularly Geography, and Earth & Space Science. Knowledge about sustainability will also be built into other subjects such as Technology, reflecting the importance of this knowledge in the context of global challenges.