Much work is needed to improve the amount and quality of student housing, members of the National Students’ Union of Taiwan (NSUT) said yesterday.
The group made the remarks during a forum in Taipei cohosted by the Ministry of Education and the NSUT to discuss the campus dorm issue.
Students and representatives from more than 50 colleges nationwide attended the event.
Photo: Chiu Chih-ju, Taipei Times
Since last month, the NSUT has been conducting surveys on the opinions of university student associations regarding student housing, it said.
The survey found a lack of housing and storage space, and poor privacy and soundproofing, were among the areas that students believed needed improvement, it said.
In communal spaces, the general consensus was that kitchen and dining facilities were the most lacking, it said.
Most students said that beyond being places of residence, dormitories should serve to help students make life adjustments, develop relationships and learn about democracy, among other functions, it said.
NSUT president Tao Han (陶漢) said he hoped that the government would invest more in dormitories.
Dormitories could be managed by students and teachers, who could work together to draft dormitory policies focused on students’ lives and learning, he added.
In a statement issued after the forum, the ministry said it proposed a NT$5 billion (US$163,34 million) plan in May to “build a new dormitory environment for the young generation.”
The plan would include rent subsidies for disadvantaged students living off-campus, the creation of off-campus social housing for students, construction loans for on-campus dormitory buildings and design improvements for on-campus dormitories, the ministry said.
The five-year plan was approved by the Executive Yuan in August and launched by the president last month, it said.
The first phase of the plan, which runs through 2023, is expected to add 30,000 beds to dormitories on and off campus, it said, adding that they are also renovating dormitories with 64,000 beds in them.
The plan would help 13,000 disadvantaged students renting off campus, it said.
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