Nearly 80 percent of university students with intellectual disabilities graduate in four years, a study released yesterday by the National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) showed.
The study, which was led by researchers at the university’s Special Education Center, was based on questionnaires and interviews with students with intellectual disabilities, as well as with lecturers, counselors and vocational rehabilitation staff at 48 universities and colleges, NTNU said.
The universities and colleges surveyed had a combined 304 students with intellectual disabilities who graduated either in 2018 or last year, it said.
The survey showed that about 70 percent of the students attended a private university focused on science and technology, it said.
Researchers found that although counselors try to provide students with intellectual disabilities various resources, their use among students was limited, it said.
Three-quarters of students with intellectual disabilities said they enrolled in a university because they wanted to become a public servant, the study showed.
Seventy-eight percent of university students with intellectual disabilities were able to obtain their diploma within four years, according to the study.
This was compared with 90 percent of all university students who did the same, the researchers said, citing Ministry of Labor data.
Forty-seven percent of university students with intellectual disabilities who graduated in 2018 or last year were employed within three months of graduation, the survey showed.
In comparison, 77 percent of all university students landed jobs three months after graduating, NTNU researchers added.
Citing last year’s data from the Ministry of Education, NTNU said that there were 1,348 students with intellectual disabilities attending universities and colleges across Taiwan.
Ministry of Education data showed that students with intellectual disabilities make up about 10 percent of all university students with disabilities, it said.
To encourage these students to make decisions on their own, they should be given enough support and opportunities to make choices, the NTNU researchers said.
The researchers recommended that the Ministry of Education make it easier for students with intellectual disabilities to take university-level classes, or help universities with students with intellectual disabilities to adjust their courses to better meet those students’ vocational needs.
Universities could create courses focused on encouraging social interactions and vocational training aimed at helping students with intellectual disabilities, they added.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
The Taipei MRT is to begin accepting mobile payment services in the fall, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said on Saturday. When the company finishes the installation of new payment units at ticketing gates in October, MRT passengers can use credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, the operator said. In addition, the MRT would also provide QR payment codes — which would be compatible with Line Pay, Jkopay, iPass Money, PXPay Plus, EasyWallet, iCash Pay, Taiwan Pay and Taishin Pay — to access the railway system. Currently, passengers can access the Taipei MRT by buying a single-journey token or using EasyCard,
RSS