Although the Ministry of Education (MOE) has undertaken a number of measures to pave the way for the implementation of a 12-year compulsory education system, the ministry said yesterday it still needs billions of NT dollars to bridge the budget shortfall.
Official statistics show that the ministry would need about NT$15.7 billion (US$536 million) a year to carry out this program, which includes relaxing the household income threshold for vocational high school students to qualify for tuition exemption.
However, the ministry only requested a budget of NT$12.4 billion for the program this year, leaving it with a NT$3.34 billion gap to fill.
Minister of Education Wu Ching-ji (吳清基) said in Taitung yesterday that the budget deficit was expected to hit NT$11 billion by 2015 when the nation’s mandatory education is extended from nine to 12 years.
He added that the ministry would seek financial help from the Executive Yuan’s second reserve fund.
Wu on Monday said the Executive Yuan and the ministry had agreed that starting in August, vocational high school students from families with an annual income of less than NT$1.14 million would qualify for free tuition.
Wu said a total of 500,000 students, or 80 percent of the nation’s students in vocational high school, would benefit from the policy.
The ministry also lifted the income threshold to NT$1.14 million for private high school students to qualify for government subsidies aimed at bringing their tuition closer to that of public schools.
Wu said that the implementation of the new education system would not affect funding earmarked for other government policies because the government’s finances have improved.
In other developments, Wu reached a consensus with local education directors that schools nationwide would join hands to show their determination to curb school bullying.
Wu said schools would put an anti-bullying sign on every hallway at 8am on Feb. 16 — the third day after the spring semester begins — while students can put stickers bearing the sign on their body.
Officials said the ministry is also mulling holding a nationwide exam to test and help students understand the consequences of bullying.
The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said it has launched a probe into a restaurant at Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store after a customer died of suspected food poisoning. A preliminary investigation on Sunday found missing employee health status reports and unsanitary kitchen utensils at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in the department store’s basement food court, the department said. No direct relationship between the food poisoning death and the restaurant was established, as no food from the day of the incident was available for testing and no other customers had reported health complaints, it said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Later
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