FEDERAL Education Minister Brendan Nelson has flagged replacing the eight different Year 12 qualifications with a single certificate, in another move towards nationalising the state-based school system.

Dr Nelson told ABC Radio he felt it was time a debate was held to determine the best way to assess Year 12 students for university entry.

The different systems in each state meant that students did not have the same opportunity for admission to tertiary education.

“It is important that we drive towards a nationally consistent method of assessing the skills and abilities of young people when they leave secondary education,” he said.

But the states have indicated only cautious support for the idea, with most saying they would be unwilling to change their own systems of assessment, which varies from two years of continuous assessment to reliance almost exclusively on final year exams.

NSW Education Minister Andrew Refshauge said while he was prepared to discuss the issue, NSW had already been through a major revamp of its Higher School Certificate and and we would not want to “reduce the value of our HSC or dumb it down”.

South Australian Education Minister Trish White had a similar response.

In Victoria, Education Minister Lynne Kosky was keeping out of the debate.

But in Queensland Education Department director-general Ken Smith said he was happy to take part in discussions at a national level regarding Dr Nelson’s proposal, but like the others claimed his system was the nation’s best.

Western Australia’s Education and Training Minister Alan Carpenter said Mr Nelson’s call for a national debate on Year 12 assessments was a diversion from thedebate over higher education changes.