The Public Education Foundation’s Friends of Zainab Tertiary Scholarship is for refugee students currently in Year 12 in 2024 intending to enter university or TAFE in 2025 – and gives an annual bursary of up to $2,000 for a maximum of two years of full-time study via TAFE or a public university.

The scholarship was established in 2002 by Dorothy Hoddinott AO, the Principal of Holroyd High School in Sydney’s South West. In its first year the scholarship enabled a young refugee, Zainab Kaabi, to complete her schooling and enter university.

The scholarship is to cover educational expenses such as:

  • Uniforms and equipment
  • Stationery and books
  • Laptop, software etc.
  • Face-To-Face Tutoring or Online Tutoring

If a student leaves TAFE or university before completion of the course, the scholarship will lapse.  Any unspent monies at the end of the scholarship period must be refunded to the Public Education Foundation scholarship fund.

Before applying for this scholarship, please ensure that you read the scholarship terms and conditions available on our website

BASIC ELIGIBILITY

  • A Refugee
  • Attends an Australian Public School
  • Currently in Year 12
  • Australian citizen or permanent resident

Note: Students who have applied for protection but do not currently have either permanent residence or Australian Citizenship will be considered on a case by case basis

  • Commitment to studying a TAFE course or University degree as a full-time student in 2025

SELECTION CRITERIA

To be considered for this scholarship the applicant should demonstrate the following criteria:

  • Experiencing personal or socioeconomic disadvantage
  • Evidence of earlier education disadvantage prior to arriving in Australia
  • Strongly articulated commitment to their chosen career path and appropriateness of current subjects studied and/or work experience towards their goal
  • Has made academic progress at school
  • A positive attitude towards schooling, including high attendance
  • Demonstrate they participate in school life
  • Demonstrate they contribute in the community and/or in extracurricular activities

SELECTION PROCESS

A selection panel will review all scholarship applications and assess them against the selection criteria. The selection panel will include representatives of the Public Education Foundation and independent experts. After considering all applications, the selection panel will recommend the selected applicants for the approval of the Public Education Foundation’s Board.

Applicants will be notified of the outcome in December. If successful, the scholarship recipient’s school principal will also receive notification directly.

APPLICATION FORM AND ATTACHMENTS

All applications for the Friends of Zainab Scholarship must be submitted via the Foundation’s online portal. You will need to sign up for a PEF-Apply account to access the form. Note – ALL sections of the application, INCLUDING the Principals Supporting Statement must be completed before the application can be submitted.

Prior to starting your application, you should compile the following information ready to submit:

  • Applicant details including:
    • full name
    • gender
    • date of birth
    • phone number
    • address
    • email (please ensure you nominate an email account you regularly access)
  • Residence status (copy of residency Visa or Citizenship certificate is a requirement)
  • Number of years in formal education before coming to Australia
  • Parent/guardian details (at least one but up to two)
  • School details:
    • name of school
    • address
    • principal name
    • email
  • School Point of Contact – the person at the school who you would like correspondence sent to – name, phone number and email
  • Basic information about you / your family:
      • whether you are Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, or Pacific or South Sea Islander
      • your mob/family/traditional owner/language group
      • if you are from a Non-English-Speaking Background
      • country of original of your parents and yourself
      • which languages you speak and are spoken at home
      • how many adults live on your home
      • how many of those adults are working
      • who is the primary caregiver at home
      • how many other school aged (or younger) children live in your house
      • highest education qualification of your immediate family
      • if you have a diagnosed disability or learning difficulty
      • whether you have been in out-of-home care
      • socio-economic background
      • how you found out about the scholarship
  • A statement outlining your current circumstances and why you are a suitable candidate for this scholarship. (Maximum 250 words)
  • A brief explanation about your circumstances before coming to Australia, including your education before you arrived (Maximum 250 words)
  • A brief explanation of your involvement in school and/or extra-curricular activities ( school leadership positions, sporting activities and clubs, part-time work, after school or weekend community and/or family commitments) (Maximum 250 words)
  • A brief outline of your commitment to your chosen career and how your current studies (including subject selection) and/or work experience support your planned University/TAFE studies and career. (maximum 250 words)
  • A brief explanation of what barriers you see for your future studies. (maximum 250 words)
  • Your University or TAFE course preferences including name of institution and name of degree/course (you must submit at least one preference but you can enter up to three).
  • A copy of all pages of your most recent school report ready to upload
  • A personal reference (PDF or Word format, maximum 400 words) Please advise your referee that our Panels are not in a position to contact them for additional information. The reference should provide all information they feel is relevant.
  • A supporting statement from your Principal which addresses the selection criteria (the applicant must initiate a request via the online application to the Principal. This will result in an email being sent to the Principal asking them to complete a statement of support online).  This statement must be completed by your Principal before the application can be submitted.

Note for principals: Please be aware that your statement is a critical component of the application form, and your feedback is given considerable weight in the process of panel deliberations.  The panels are looking for feedback that goes well beyond simple confirmation that the student is enrolled in your school.

Generic responses, or copy/paste responses from the applicants or referees statements WILL disadvantage the applicant.

DRAFT PAPER APPLICATION FORM

Our online applications are a mandatory part of the PEF process; however, we are aware that this can cause additional challenges for schools assisting with scholarship applications. We have developed a paper application form which will hopefully assist with this process. Please note that the application must still be completed online but some students might like to complete the paper version at home before finalising the online application at school.

If you require a paper version of this application, please contact PEF on info@publiceducationfoundation.org.au

SUBMITTING YOUR APPLICATION

Once you have finalized your application and all elements are complete (including references and supporting statements as required) you can submit it for review.

Applications must be submitted by 11.59pm on Tuesday 13th August 2024.

For Further Information

Call the Public Education Foundation on 02 7814 2806 or email us at info@publiceducationfoundation.org.au