Educators welcome new teaching scholarships

Educators welcome new teaching scholarships

Massey University educators have welcomed the government’s announcement of scholarship changes for prospective teachers.

From 2008 existing scholarships and allowances will be replaced with a single flexible and responsive TeachNZ recruitment scholarship. A total of 538 scholarships will be available – 80 of them, enhanced scholarships and the rest for tertiary students and graduates.

Education Minister Steve Maharey says that the changes made are to make teaching a more accessible and attractive career, and Massey’s Director of Teacher Education, Dr Mary Simpson is pleased with the announcement.

“With a pending teacher shortage, it is vital to promote teaching as an attractive and rewarding career option,” she says. “To have this recognized in the form of new scholarships from the Government is very significant.”

Dr Simpson says that the announcement also provides an opportunity for institutions that prepare teachers, to evaluate their priorities.

“While there is an urgency to enter new teachers into the workforce, it is equally as important to ensure that those teachers are quality, and meeting the areas of greatest need identified by the Government,” she says.

The TeachNZ recruitment scholarship is targeted at areas of highest need – chemistry, home economics, mathematics, physics, technology, te reo Māori, and Māori medium.

Under the recruitment scholarship for graduates, all full-time secondary student teachers
will receive course fees and an allowance and be bonded to teach.

New ‘career changer’ scholarships will also be avaiable to attract people with established careers to become teachers of technology and/or te reo Māori, or to teach in bilingual or Māori immersion environments.

“Massey’s College of Education offers a total-immersion, te reo Maori teaching qualification, Te Aho Tatairangi, and it’s an opportunity for us to promote this programme to prospective teachers, or even those fluent in te reo who may be considering a career change,” Dr Simpson says.

Under the scholarship incentives, up to $30,000 is available to support those in this area.

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