Students will be able to study in comfort this summer, after air-conditioners were installed in public schools nationwide in a government initiative more than a year in the making.
Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) at a launch event yesterday hailed the initiative as achieving “mission impossible.”
Teachers and students have long been plagued by high temperatures, affecting their studies and necessitating a concerted plan of action, Su told a gathering at Pingtung City’s Heh Sheng Elementary School, which was joined virtually by schools nationwide.
Photo: CNA
The Cabinet’s plan took more than a year to coordinate, with 2,300 work crews installing 180,000 air-conditioners in 3,500 schools nationwide, he said.
“After overcoming all sorts of hardships and limitations, we have achieved ‘mission impossible’ so that students no longer have to sit in class covered in sweat,” Su said.
It is only April and already Pingtung City is experiencing temperatures exceeding 32°C, Su said.
“You can imagine what the afternoon temperatures will be like over the next two months,” he said.
People have been trying to fix the problem for decades, but the costs and challenges have made the task monumental, he said.
The government has coordinated between schools, Taiwan Power Co (台電) and manufacturers to finally install air-conditioners in every classroom in the nation, he added, thanking everyone involved for their hard work.
A total budget of NT$35.79 billion (US$1.22 billion) went into the initiative, NT$32.3 billion of which was provided by the central government, with the rest contributed by local governments, Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) said, adding that all electricity and maintenance costs would be borne by the central government.
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