When it comes to the education of students in rural areas, it will take more than money to improve their lot, National Taiwan Normal University professors Sharon Chen (
"Simply allocating sporadic funding or temporary aid, whether monetary or human resources, will not help," they told a press conference in Taipei.
In a two-year study supported by the National Science Council (NSC), Chen and Wang's team investigated 225 rural junior-high schools and found that the shortage of resources, teachers and funding hindered many students from academic success.
"Young teachers come for a year or two before they land permanent jobs in cities; the teachers are overworked because of staff shortages; the schools lack information technology facilities; and the community does not offer the public resources needed for youngsters to succeed in schools," Chen said.
Seventy-five percent of junior-high schools in eastern Taiwan and outlying islands are considered "rural," the study said, compared with less than 30 percent in the north, center and south of the country.
Schools that face the most difficulty are those that are "in-between states," meaning they are "not predominantly Aboriginal, nor are they so rural that they draw massive public attention," Chen said.
"The low socioeconomic status and education level of the parents and low level of cultural stimulation worsen the students' chances of getting into good tertiary schools," Chen said.
"City parents complain to teachers about assigning too much homework, since students have a lot of afterschool activities," she said. "But in rural areas the complaints come from the grandparents, who are rearing the children while their parents work in cities, because most of the homework is too difficult for the students, and the grandparents aren't capable of teaching the kids either."
Wang said the solution would require long-term commitment and a multi-disciplinary effort. Increasing the incentives for students to excel would also be key, she said.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
RSS