Two amendments to Article 25 of the University Act (大學法), which list immigrant spouses as “special students” and provide more diverse ways for them to pursue an education, were reviewed by the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee in Taipei on Wednesday.
The amendments — proposed by Democratic Progressive Party legislators Lee Li-feng (李麗芬) and Hsu Chih-chien (許智傑) — would allow immigrant spouses to pursue further education at Taiwanese universities based on their education in their own nations.
As of October last year, the number of immigrant spouses exceeded 540,000, making them the fifth-largest population group in the nation, the ministry said.
Due attention should be given to their cultural identification, employment, parenting and whether they have adapted to the lifestyle, it said.
During the naturalization period of about four to eight years, immigrant spouses would be able to apply to study at Taiwanese universities using their high-school diploma and grades, the ministry said, adding that once the spouse is naturalized, they become subject to the rules for Taiwanese.
Because of this identity change, the spouse would have to obtain certificates signifying that they hold the equivalent education level as a Taiwanese student before they could apply for a place at university, the ministry said, adding that it is coordinating with the National Immigration Agency on the amendments.
Should the amendments pass, education in their native country would be recognized after naturalization, it said.
Naturalized spouses would also be eligible to take the civil servant examinations, or become public-school teachers, elevating their social status, it added.
Naturalized spouses would be considered “special students,” like the children of civil servants serving abroad, or the children of overseas compatriots studying in Taiwan, the ministry said.
Meanwhile, a motion to include Chinese spouses was denied, as it would involve an amendment to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (台灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) that has not been debated.
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