As this month is the first anniversary of the law, the Ministry of Education (MOE) and feminist groups are examining the Gender Equality Education Law's (性別平等教育法) effectiveness in creating gender equality at schools and environments free of sexual harassment. In doing so, the rights of pregnant students on the nation's campuses have been brought to the fore.
According to article 14 of the law, schools are obligated to protect the rights of pregnant students, and cannot force pregnant students and unwed mothers to drop out of school.
To ensure colleges and universities abide by the regulation, the MOE recently sent out documents to remind the schools to better protect pregnant students' rights.
Responding to the MOE's reminder, National Taiwan University (NTU) announced earlier last week that it will add "pregnant" and "maternity leave" to its list of formal excuses for absences in the school's student leave regulations. Pregnant students' grades will not be affected by the leave, and the maternity leave will not be counted in the time limits of the temporary suspension of schooling. First married students, and now unwed mothers will enjoy the rights under the new regulation, according to NTU's Office of Academic Affairs.
The MOE's efforts to improve pregnant students' educational rights and NTU's new regulation, which is expected to take effect next year, were well received by feminist groups and teen welfare organizations.
Yeh Ta-hua (葉大華), secretary-general of the Taiwan Youth Rights and Welfare Advocacy Association, praised educational authorities for taking pregnant students' rights seriously.
"In this country, pregnant students and teen mothers are viewed as bringing shame to their parents," Yeh said. "The law will help create a more positive attitude toward pregnant students."
According to Yeh, the nation still has a long way to go when it comes to protect the rights of pregnant students and providing them with a friendly learning environment. Schools should start offering more gender-related courses and cultivate students' open attitudes toward their pregnant classmates.
But not all groups find the new law all smiles and sunshine. Parents and conservative groups expressed concerns about the policy, worrying that it may encourage more female students to get pregnant.
Su Chien-ling (蘇芊玲), a member of the MOE's gender equality committee, said the policy directs schools to assist pregnant students.
"The protection of pregnant students' rights does not equal encouraging students to get pregnant. The law also requires schools to dedicate at least eight hours per semester to sex-education, which hopefully can prevent students from having an unwanted pregnancy," Su said.
"Life is a journey and you never know what circumstances you may encounter. I think it is important to respect each individual's decisions," Su added. "We respect pregnant students' choices and will try to make their lives easier."
Yeh said that in the West -- in addition to providing counseling services -- schools often seek assistance from civil organizations to help pregnant students, including courses on childbirth and baby care.
Schools also ask the father of a child born out of wedlock to take the courses and receive counseling services with the mothers to help them prepare for the months of pregnancy and childbirth.
Most colleges and universities in Taiwan currently do not list "pregnant" or "maternity leave" as acceptable excuses for student to take a leave of absence. Even if some schools allow students to take "pregnancy" leave, only married students are eligible to do so.
While schools do not suspend or expel pregnant students, unfriendly attitudes often force them to leave the school during the pregnancy, thus infringing on their rights.
Seeking to create a friendly environment for pregnant students, the MOE announced that it will direct schools at all levels to take care of pregnant students. Schools will need to amend their regulations to make it easier for pregnant students to take maternity leave.
The ministry also asked schools to provide pregnant students with post-course instruction, so that they can finish the work that was missed during the leave. After the childbirth, students will be able to put their children in kindergartens and nurseries at the schools.
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