More than 30 percent of high- school students supported by a charity in Taiwan do paid work for more than two hours each day during school terms and twice as much during the summer and winter vacations, according to the results of a new survey.
The survey, released on Wednesday by the Taiwan Fund for Children and Families, shows that to ease their families’ financial burdens, 35 percent of the high-school or vocational-school students helped by the charity work more than two hours each day and that 40 percent work for more than 120 hours per month on average during summer and winter school vacations.
Sixty-three percent of students who work after school say their studies are affected by the need to have a part-time job, while 46 percent have given up on attending a higher-level school, the survey found.
The findings were released at a press conference held by the charity to appeal for help for children from underprivileged families by taking part in its program.
“If given enough resources related to education, those children tend to perform better at school and might have the chance to find better jobs, which can further improve their families’ financial situation,” fund chief executive officer Ho Su-chiu (何素秋) said.
The survey found that among the students it supports, 60 percent are from families in which at most one person is employed and 59 percent are from families who earn less than NT$20,000 per month.
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