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Foreign spouses encouraged to join children in school

With the launch of "Multicultural Week" in elementary schools in Taipei this week, several charity groups and school principals on Monday urged foreign spouses to play a greater role in their children's school life.

Most of the more than 350,000 foreign spouses who have immigrated to Taiwan are women, with a majority coming from China, followed by Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam and Indonesia.

"The participation of these foreign mothers in school not only helps them understand their children's academic performance and moral development, but also strengthens the relationship between community, family and school," said Tsai Li-zhu (蔡麗珠), chairman of the Hsu Chau-ing Social Welfare and Charity Foundation, an organization that provides assistance to foreign spouses and their families.

However, most foreign spouses encounter obstacles when they try to participate in their children's school activities, including language difficulties, Tsai said.

Hoping that new Taiwanese mothers can play a greater role in their children's schooling, Su He (蘇禾), secretary-general of the Can Love Social Services Association, encouraged parents to actively engage in school activities, such as annual sports events, voluntary story-telling and parent-teacher groups.

To provide more opportunities for foreign spouses to join their children, the association will organize sports competitions in May, inviting local and foreign mothers and their children to participate so as to increase interaction between the two groups.

A Ministry of Education survey showed there were more than 80,000 children with a parent who came from another country attending elementary schools and junior high schools in Taiwan in 2006.

The number is increasing year by year.

About 25,000 of these children live in northern Taiwan, mostly in Taipei County, Taipei City and Taoyuan County.
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