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Ōtāhuhu College students Fuifatu, Grace, Matalupe and River. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
Over 15,000 high school students in New Zealand face the reality of putting their education on hold in order to feed their families.
Students work 20 to 50 hours of paid work a week on top of study.
The New Zealand Poverty Action Group released a report this week examining the extent of the issue, and it's calling for urgent support for students who they say are being robbed of their schooling due to the financial pressure.
RNZ's Checkpoint reporter Louise Ternouth spoke to students at South Auckland's Otahuhu College.