Hon Paul Goldsmith

Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment
16 May 2017
Sister School fund recipients announced

Ten schools across New Zealand will receive assistance to deepen their China sister school relationships, Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Paul Goldsmith announced in Beijing today.

The New Zealand – China Sister Schools Fund operates on a co-funding basis to enable schools to further deepen their existing links with Chinese partners. Each school will receive up to $5000 from a fund administered by Education New Zealand.

“Through initiatives like the Sister Schools Fund and the Prime Minister’s Scholarships for Asia, we’re giving young Kiwis the opportunity to develop skills and awareness for an Asia-Pacific-centred world,” Mr Goldsmith says.

This is the third round of funding, and was announced during the visit of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to New Zealand in March 2017. Mr Goldsmith is currently in China on a six-day official visit.

The recipients include seven primary and intermediate schools, and three high schools.

“As one of the recipients, Cambridge Primary School will be able to strengthen their relationship with ShenLong Primary, with a visit to Cambridge from ShenLong students and staff in August, with 13 students from Cambridge visiting China this October,” Mr Goldsmith says.

Most of the schools are planning to take groups of students to visit their sister schools in China. Many have indicated this funding will subsidise some students who would not otherwise be able to access this opportunity.

2017 marks the forty-fifth anniversary of diplomatic relations between New Zealand and the People’s Republic of China.

“Education has played, and continues to play, an important role in the overall bilateral relationship, and I welcome the continued strengthening of China-New Zealand relations,” Mr Goldsmith says.

The full list of recipients can be found at www.enz.govt.nz.

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