Two student-rights advocates who on Aug. 18 completed a 27-day trip around the nation to raise awareness about controversial high-school curriculum guideline changes recently decided to donate part of the funds they raised to the Syuhai Study Center in Pingtung County’s Mudan Township (牡丹) to help schools in rural areas.
Hsu Kuan-tse (許冠澤) and Chou Tzu-hsiang (周子翔) said they had originally set out on their nationwide trip to spread the word about why they were protesting the Ministry of Education’s changes to curriculum guidelines.
The ministry’s adjustments to the guidelines sparked waves of protests by students and groups over what critics call a “China-centric” perspective and a secretive approval process.
Photo: Chen Yen-ting, Taipei Times
During their journey, Hsu and Chou learned from locals that the only school in rural Syuhai Village (旭海) had been converted into a hot spring resort, which has since become dilapidated.
All school-age children have to travel to Mudan Elementary School to attend classes, a 12km commute from Syuhai Village, Hsu said, adding that were it not for the center, founded by Pan Yi-fang (潘儀芳), which provides a school bus, the children would be required to walk to and from the school.
The pair said their round-the-nation trip included a stop to visit the center, which had arranged for the children to perform on ocarinas to welcome them.
However, the arrival of Typhoon Soudelor disrupted the pair’s plans, but they said they were still informed by word of mouth of the difficulties the children faced to receive an education.
Hsu and Chou said they initially could not believe that there were still areas in Taiwan with such poor educational resources, and they were deeply moved when they heard about Pan selflessly funding the center.
Before their trip, which was originally meant to spread the word of resistance to the ministry’s guideline changes, the pair said they had no idea there were still so many children in the nation who required assistance until they embarked on the journey.
Despite the ministry’s promise to review the curriculum review committee’s roster and allow student participation, Hsu said he returned home to learn that the ministry had gone back on its word.
Hsu said that the news, coupled with his memories of rural children suffering from a lack of educational resources, had shattered the last hopes he and Chou had held for the ministry.
Hsu said he and Chou decided to donate NT$400,000 to the Syuhai Studying Center out of the NT$700,000 the two had raised through donations to fund their journey.
“We hope the funds will help further the education of children in rural areas,” Hsu said, adding that they are also trying to find a way to return NT$300,000 that an elderly resident had asked the Taichung City Government to give them to fund their journey.
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