Mon, Aug 03, 2020 page3

• Ministry to aid rural schools with NT$2.63bn

  • By Rachel Lin, Dennis Xie and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writers
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  To narrow the urban-rural gap in learning resources, the Ministry of Education is to allocate NT$2.63 billion (US$89.15 million) to a fund to help an estimated 112,000 students in rural public schools.

  According to ministry data, Taiwan has 1,177 public schools that are legally defined as remote, a designation that the Standards Governing the Determination of Levels and Classification of Schools in Remote Areas (偏遠地區學校分級及認定標準) further breaks down into “remote,” “distinctively remote” and “extremely remote.”

  Of these schools, 825 are considered “remote,” while 212 are designated “distinctively remote” and 140 are “extremely remote,” the ministry data showed.

  The categorization takes into consideration each area’s transportation, culture, convenience level, digital environment and socioeconomic factors, the ministry said.

  Yunlin County has the most isolated schools with 121 schools, followed by Tainan with 120 and Nantou County’s 103, ministry data showed.

  Every school in Penghu, Kinmen, and Lienchiang counties — in Taiwan’s outlying islands — is a remote school, while Taipei and Keelung, as well as Hsinchu and Chiayi cities, have none, the data showed.

  The fund is to be spent on subsidy schemes, including a program to provide up to NT$2 million per elementary or junior-high school every three years, the K-12 Education Administration said on July 25.

  Another program would subsidize all kinds of schools with up to NT$500,000 per school per year, it said.

  The ministry also provides up to NT$6 million per year for each local government to help them devise regional education development plans, the agency said.

  To address the high faculty turnover rates in rural schools, the ministry has introduced rules requiring contracted teachers to serve for at least six years, it said.

  Universities with teacher education programs should designate a portion of their admission quota to students from isolated areas, and provide full scholarships for students that agree to teach in rural schools after graduation, it said.

  Additional support should be given to teachers contracted at such schools when they seek to acquire a second professional specialty, as well as bonuses and rewards as incentives for them to stay, it said.

  National Federation of Teachers’ Unions director-general Ho Chiun-liang (侯俊良) said that these schools lack a stable staff more than equipment, especially teachers for subjects such as art, English and technology.

  As students in these schools have fewer opportunities to interact with society, the government should ensure sufficient Internet connectivity, so that teachers can utilize online resources to expand students’ views, Ho said.

  Some students in isolated regions receive less care at home, creating a heavier workload for teachers, Ho said, adding that the government should provide more school counselors and resources to reinforce these students’ social safety net.

  A rural elementary school in Tainan said it has had difficulty hiring foreign teachers, with some interviewees citing a lack of modern conveniences near the school for not wanting to work there.

  One foreign teacher interviewed by the school said they would only work there if there were a movie theater and foreign fast-food restaurants nearby, Sancih Elementary School teacher Chiang Hung-shang (姜宏尚) said.

  The school, in Tainan’s Beimen District (北門), later managed to hire a teacher from South Africa, but that teacher quit in less than half a year, he said, adding that the school now shares a foreign teacher on rotation with other nearby schools.

  Sancih Elementary School is the district’s second-largest elementary school, with 11 teachers and 56 students, he said.

  Most of the school’s teachers have been there a long time, but he is the newest, having taught there only four years, Chiang said.

  The school’s administration and the strength of the community are key factors in retaining teachers, he said, adding that community members have paid for air conditioners and computers at the school.

  Children in rural communities are more active and often come from agricultural families that might pull them from class to help with farming or fishing, he said.

  These schools were often built on private land, which prevents the government from renovating dilapidated facilities, Chiang said, adding that Sancih Elementary School in particular is deteriorating because of its proximity to the coast.

  Principals’ Association director Chang Hsin-wu (張信務) said that rural schools lack qualified teachers in general, especially in the areas of art, music and physical education, and rural schools often employ teachers in those fields on rotation.
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