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Other types of study assistance

There are several forms of financial assistance available to encourage people to study for a teacher education qualification. These are in addition to the Student Allowances and Student Loan Schemes administered by StudyLink.

Early Childhood Incentive Grants
These are awarded to chartered teacher-led services to help staff gain the Diploma of Teaching (Early Childhood Education) or another New Zealand Teachers Council-approved ECE teaching qualification that leads to registration as a teacher. The incentive grants are intended as a contribution towards the costs services face when supporting staff to upgrade their qualifications. Currently all Auckland services that meet the criteria will be allocated Incentive Grants. There are 500 Incentive Grants available for allocation across the remainder of the country. Each Incentive Grant is worth $2094.00 (GST inclusive). For more information see the Ministry of Education's website or download the Incentive Grant form below.

Study Grants
These are available to qualified primary teachers and primary student teachers who wish to gain an early childhood teaching qualification. The $3000 grants are to assist these people to meet the costs of their study. ECE Study Grant application forms can be downloaded from the Ministry of Education's website and are also available from teacher education providers.

StudyLink
If you do not meet the criteria for any of the above secondary teaching incentives, you can still apply for Government financial support through StudyLink - administered by the Ministry of Social Development. Support through StudyLink includes Student Allowances and Student Loan Schemes and the Training Incentive Allowance.

Student Loan support for qualified secondary and Māori Medium teachers

Loan Support Scheme

The Loan Support Scheme has been closed to new applicants from 2009 as it has been superseded by the Teacher Voluntary Bonding Scheme. However, those teachers who have received Loan Support Scheme payments in the past, and continue to meet the eligibility criteria, can apply for their next payment in the usual way.

The Loan Support Scheme will cease from the beginning of 2011.

If you would like to find out more about the Teacher Voluntary Bonding Scheme, visit www.minedu.govt.nz/voluntarybondingscheme

To check out your teacher education options, ways of studying, and eligibility for a TeachNZ early childhood education scholarship or other financial support, view the following weblinks and downloadable documents:

ECE Incentive Grants - A direct link to full information and the application form on the Ministry of Education website. The grant is available to licensed and chartered centre-based and home-based early childhood services to assist staff to gain an approved ECE teaching qualification.

ECE Study Grants - a direct link to detailed information on the $3000 study grants for qualified primary teachers, primary student teachers and degree-holders studying towards approved ECE teaching qualifications.

The Funding Information Service (see ‘Breakout’)
Breakout lists information on scholarships, awards and grants available throughout the country for individuals looking to fund their study and professional development. To the right of the Breakout home page, you can click on your region in the map of NZ to bring up a list of public sites offering access to the funding information free of charge.

To view the pdf documents you need Adobe Acrobat which you can download by clicking on this icon