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Tu Cheng-sheng says China is not the best answer

"Taiwanese students studying there may not be able to enjoy quality services."

MOE statement

Minister of Education Tu Cheng-sheng (杜正勝) urged Taiwanese students yesterday to understand the real reason behind China's offer of tuition incentives, noting that tuition in China may in fact not be cheaper than in Taiwan.

Tuition at some Chinese universities exceeds 20,000 yuan (NT$80,000) a semester -- almost double what a Taiwanese student pays at a national university -- so people in Taiwan had better wake up from the dream of low education costs in China, he said.

He said he would not claim that the quality of education in Taiwan is better than in China, but he would like people to "see clearly" for themselves.

Tu made the remarks one day after Beijing announced that Taiwan students can pay the same tuition and boarding fees as their Chinese counterparts starting next semester, which begins in the fall. Hong Kong and Macau students are not eligible for the preferential treatment.

He did not specify what China's "real purpose" was in making the announcement, saying "we all know in our mind."

Media handouts given by ministry officials show the number of students attending China's higher education institutes rose rapidly from 1.08 million in 1998 to 4.2 million last year, indicating that the quality of education "varies from school to school in such a wide range that Taiwanese students studying there may not be able to enjoy quality services."
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