Officials at the Ministry of Education plan to closely scrutinize an estimated NT$200 million in funds that will be spent by the end of the year on rehabilitation projects in 921 quake damaged areas.
"Given the enormous amount of funding, all applications must be strictly scrutinized to prevent misuse," said Ho Chin-tsai (
The education ministry yesterday finalized funding allocations for counseling and reconstruction projects that numerous schools have applied for.
Following last year's earthquake, 174 schools were left damaged and in need of repair.
With the exception of a NT$30 million proposal for projects in Chiayi County, the ministry has approved nearly all the applications it has received.
"We did not approve its application on the basis that the proposals failed to supply sufficient information," Ho said. "We have issued notice to the Chiayi County government, suggesting it provide further details on its proposal."
Ho said the ministry plans to spend NT$2 billion over the next five years on psychological counseling programs for students that live in quake-stricken areas. Part of the money will also be used for reconstruction.
But Ho dismissed recent allegations that relief funds have paid for inappropriate expenses, such as travel or other leisure activities for school faculty.
"These are just groundless rumors," Ho said. "To our knowledge, the only projects relating to field excursions were proposed by the Nantou County government," in which teachers and students travelled to schools in neighboring counties to share their reconstruction experiences.
"The total cost of the activity came to just several hundred thousand Taiwan dollars. The relief fund was absolutely not used for overseas trips for teachers, as rumors have alleged."
While reconstruction efforts have focused on repairing damaged buildings, doctors warned that the `damaged spirits' of schoolchildren also need attention.
Wang Wei-ti (王維蒂), a psychiatrist at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, said more and more children from quake-afflicted areas are suffering from trichotillomania -- a disease in which children constantly pull their hair.
Trichotillomania often afflicts children who have experienced traumatic episodes.
Wang said she had seen a patient who continuously pulled off hair from all over his body -- including eyebrows and eye lashes -- because the boy seemed to derive comfort from the act.
"Patients snatch off their hair because they are emotionally stressed but don't know how to tackle such psychological trauma," Wang said.
"Family members of these patients need to take special care of their emotional needs to keep this kind of behavior from occurring."
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