Faculty members at some universities are taking concrete steps to help students financially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic complete their studies.
Chihlee University of Technology chair professor Chen Chao-ming (陳超明) yesterday said that he is starting a campaign to ask the public to donate money saved from canceled travel plans during the pandemic to students at their alma mater who are having difficulty paying their tuition.
Chen said that since 2013, he has teamed up with a group in Orange County, California, to offer NT$20,000 (US$677) in tuition subsidies to four students in Taiwan from disadvantaged families who are not eligible for Ministry of Education subsidies.
The project has so far helped students at National Chengchi University, Shih Chien University and National Pingtung University (NPTU), but Chen said that more students have applied for the subsidy this year, possibly because their parents have been furloughed due to COVID-19.
NPTU president Mike Guu (古源光) said that his school raised more than NT$2 million from alumni and faculty members in one year for student subsidies.
The university’s administration can take action if students enrolling for next semester request help with their tuition, Guu said.
National Chengchi University Department of English chairwoman Chao Ching-chi (招靜琪) said that some students came to her for help with their tuition at the outset of the pandemic, possibly because their parents had become unemployed.
She said that she hired some of the students as teaching or research assistants in the hope that they could then afford to pay their tuition.
Yesterday, the Ministry of Education said that it notified institutions of higher education in February, March and June that it would subsidize emergency measures taken during the pandemic, as well as reimburse them for subsidies given to students.
As of Thursday, NT$21.1 million in subsidies had been issued, benefiting 8.61 million students, the ministry said, adding that discounts on tuition are offered each year to students from disadvantaged families.
In 2018, the discounts totaled NT$2.28 billion for universities and NT$3.88 billion for vocational colleges, benefiting 84,000 and 149,000 students respectively, the ministry said.
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