Inset: Ssai Ovya Sukumar (19, right) is paying international fees to study at university, and her sisters Eesha (17, centre) and Samyuktha (14) are facing the same challenge when they leave Waitaki Girls High School. Right: Unable to afford international fees for their daughter to go to university, Ozzy Omar (right) has returned to Malaysia with her children, while husband Yusoff Deraman (left) remains working in Oamaru. PHOTOS: SUPPLIED
For most secondary school pupils in Waitaki, pursuing tertiary study is a rite of passage. But this passage can be more arduous for some than others, writes
Ruby Heyward.
Many brought children to the country with them.