Although one of the objectives of the 12-year national education program is to protect the right to education of children from economically disadvantaged families, a survey released by the Children’s Welfare League Foundation yesterday showed that more than half of students from these families struggle with the high cost of schooling.
“Education is a very good tool and opportunity for children from economically disadvantaged families to change their lives,” foundation executive director Chen Li-ju (陳麗如) told a press conference in Taipei.
“However, we are very worried, as our survey shows that more than 50 percent of students from economically disadvantaged families find it difficult to pay various fees at school, which could reach more than NT$9,000 per semester if they are attending a private high school or a private vocational school,” Chen added.
Chen said that although the 12-year program is intended to lessen burdens on students and their families, the economic issue is still a problem because most of these students attend private high schools or vocational schools.
Although tuition is waived, private-school students still have to pay for textbooks and miscellaneous fees, as well as uniforms, transportation or lodging if they attend boarding schools, she added.
The survey of economically disadvantaged families, which collected 1,324 valid samples, showed that as many as 75 percent of the children said they wish to go to school to improve the lives of their families, 53.3 percent of the families said they do not have money for their children’s schooling and 81.2 percent said they are worried about not having money for their children’s education.
Because of economic concerns, 41 percent of the children said they would give up school to help their families earn money.
When asked how the families choose to spend their money, 51 percent said they would sacrifice education to save money, 50 percent said they would buy fewer daily necessities, 42 percent of the parents said they would spend less on themselves, while 35 percent said they would save on food and 26 percent said they would try to cut their housing budget.
“We have also found that children from economically disadvantaged families have lower grades on average, not because they do not work hard enough, but because they do not have a lot of resources, their parents do not have as much time to help them with their homework and they sometimes have to work to help their families economically,” Chen said.
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