An annual NT$35,000 (US$1,120) subsidy for private college tuition and miscellaneous costs went into effect on Thursday, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) announced in a Facebook post that day.
Students studying in private colleges are to see the subsidy on their tuition fee bill for an amount of NT$17,500 per semester (or NT$35,000 per year), Tsai said.
The subsidy intends to bridge the gap between private and public university tuition fees and is the main component of the “Education Equality 1+3 Scheme,” Tsai wrote in the post, referring to the subsidy and three supporting measures approved by the Cabinet in June last year.
Photo: Rachel Lin, Taipei Times
The first measure is an additional subsidy for economically disadvantaged students at private and public universities.
Students from families with household incomes of NT$700,000 or less are to receive an additional NT$20,000 subsidy annually, while those in the NT$700,000 to NT$900,000 income bracket are to receive NT$15,000 per year, the Cabinet’s Facebook post said.
Other measures include scrapping all high school and vocational high school fees, as well as relaxing eligibility requirements and repayment terms for student loans, Tsai said.
The tuition fee gap has been an important consideration for many students when choosing their future field of study, she said, adding that high tuition fees in private universities have also been burdensome for students and their families.
It was a hindrance to students’ freedom to choose what they study and which schools based on what best suits them, she said.
Tsai added that she worked with president-elect Vice President William Lai (賴清德) and Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to come up with the plan to relieve the financial pressure on young Taiwanese and their families.
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