The Ministry of Education will pledge NT$120 million (US$3.7 million) to purchase 8,000 computers for first through third graders from lower-income families in an effort to bridge the nation's digital divide, Minister of Education Tu Cheng-sheng (杜正勝) said yesterday in Taipei.
The families will also receive free Internet access for one year under the plan.
"In Taiwan, 67 percent of the population are Internet users and more than 75 percent of the households nationwide have direct Internet access," Tu said, adding that the government must do more to offset the digital imbalance between rural and urban areas.
To promote computer usage in rural communities, the government also vowed to set up 113 digital opportunity centers by the end of this year.
Tu made the remarks at the "Information and Communications Technology for a Better Education" seminar, saying that Taiwan is willing and able to assist other countries in enhancing their digital capability.
More than 45 representatives, including five education ministers and six vice-ministers from 15 countries including the UK, Malawi, the Philippines, Myanmar, Vietnam, Malaysia and several South Pacific countries, are attending the two-day seminar.
The participants will hear presentations on Taiwan's digital success stories as well as visit some of the country's science and technology sites, such as the Hsinchu Science Park and the 2007 World Robots Olympiad.
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), in his welcome address, said that as a member of the global village, Taiwan has the obligation to contribute and be actively engaged in causes that eradicate computer and technology disparity in the world.
Despite its lack of natural resources, Taiwan has managed to remain competitive due to its stellar education system, Chen said, citing the recent World Economic Report which ranked Taiwan as number four in higher education and training compared with 131 countries worldwide.
Chen said the government's dedication to computer education has ensured that every classroom in Taiwan has a computer and every township has a digital opportunity center where local people can become literate in computer skills.
At the APEC Leaders' Meeting in Bangkok in 2003, Taiwan advocated a collective worldwide effort to tackle the emerging digital divide.
In the following year, Taiwan initiated the establishment of the APEC Digital Opportunity Center (ADOC) to help APEC member economies improve their IT networks.
Since then, Taiwan has dispatched long-term volunteers to help set up ADOC's in six countries, the president said.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
MORE NEEDED: Recall drives against legislators in Miaoli’s two districts and Hsinchu’s second district were still a few thousand signatures short of the second-stage threshold Campaigners aiming to recall Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday said they expect success in 30 out of 35 districts where drives have passed the second-stage threshold, which would mark a record number of recall votes held at once. Hsinchu County recall campaigners yesterday announced that they reached the second-stage threshold in the recall effort against Legislator Lin Szu-ming (林思銘). A total of 26,414 signatures have been gathered over the past two months, surpassing the 10 percent threshold of 23,287 in Hsinchu County’s second electoral district, chief campaigner Hsieh Ting-ting (謝婷婷) said. “Our target is to gather an additional 1,500 signatures to reach
RSS