Education New Zealand (ENZ) on Thursday in HCM City signed a collaboration arrangement with the HCM City Department of Education and Training to further build an education partnership between New Zealand and the city.

The arrangement will cover various educational aspects, including more joint programmes to develop the skills and knowledge of students, teachers and education management officers in HCM City, according to ENZ.

Exchange programmes between New Zealand and HCM City institutions will also be part of the collaborative effort.

During the signing ceremony, ENZ announced the New Zealand School Scholarships, the first New Zealand government scholarships offered exclusively to Vietnamese secondary school students.

As many as 36 secondary schools across New Zealand will provide support for talented Vietnamese students who want to discover the country’s future-focused and quality education, with scholarships offering 100 per cent, 50 per cent and 30 per cent of tuition fees, for the first year of study.

“Through initiatives such as the New Zealand School Scholarships, New Zealand can play its part in providing talented young Vietnamese with broad skills such as interdisciplinary, entrepreneurial, leadership, digital, technical, creative and analytical, as well as strong global awareness, that will help them meet the challenges of the future,” said Wendy Matthews, New Zealand’s ambassador to Viet Nam.

All 36 schools joining the programme are highly regarded institutions, providing Vietnamese students with a wide range of choices across different regions in New Zealand.

Among the scholarships, there are 11 “ambition scholarships” supporting 30 per cent of the tuition fees of the first year of study and 25 “excellence scholarships” supporting 50 per cent of the tuition fees of the first year of study.

One outstanding student will be awarded the He Tohu Hiranga scholarship, with 100 per cent of tuition fees paid for the first year of study.

Applications for the scholarships will open on March 1.

In recent years, more and more Vietnamese families have been choosing New Zealand as an education destination for their children. The number of Vietnamese secondary school students studying in New Zealand has reached 2,500 now. — VNS