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National | Education

Scholarship brings Māori youth closer to their dreams

Five promising Māori high school students have been awarded Te Ara a Kupe Beaton scholarships to help them gain access to quality tertiary education.  Recipients say they are hoping to achieve better outcomes for Māori right across the board through their studies.

The scholarships are bringing young, aspirational Māori closer to their dreams.

Te Arawa, Ngāti Porou, Ngāi Tūhoe descendant Te Ao Kahurangi Leach says, "The motivation is to help Aotearoa get a better health system where we all have good access to the healthcare system especially for Māori."

Ngāti Ruanui descendant Adelaide Campbell says, "Going to university I want to help with Māori rights and how Māori are getting treated in today's society."

Campbell is paving the way as the first in her family to gain a university education.

Her father, Te Poihi Campbell says, "Education is one pathway for our family to thrive, as well as our hapū and our iwi, extending to New Zealand as a whole."

Recipients are encouraged to strive to gain admission into top global universities and through mentoring receive the support they need in the process.

Crimson Education spokesperson Jessica Silcock says the aim is "to put forward great representation of the Māori community and as we've seen with our scholarship recipients, to pay it forward to show that greatness is possible and to hopefully strive to create better outcomes for the Māori community in return."

The next application round for the Te Ara a Kupe Beaton scholarships open mid 2019.