17 Nov 2015

NZ scholarships encourage more Pasifika into science

3:04 pm on 17 November 2015

New scholarships are on offer to encourage more of New Zealand's Pacific people into the fields of science, technology, engineering and maths.

Up to four scholarships worth US$16,200 each over three years will be offered to university students studying the subjects at undergraduate and postgraduate level.

The Toloa scholarships are funded by New Zealand's Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs.

The Minister for Pacific Peoples Sam Lotu-Iiga says the schoalrships were set up because there aren't enough Pacific people working in those fields.

He says the workforce needs to reflect the make-up of the general population.

The Toloa Scholarships are open to Pacific peoples who are New Zealand citizens or permanent residents.