A scholarship program to encourage students to develop a career in agriculture is to continue next year, the Ministry of Agriculture said, with 35 vocational high schools participating in the program, which provides up to NT$30,000 (US$1,034) per academic year.
The scheme was launched in 2017 to incentivize vocational high-school students studying farm management, agricultural machinery, horticulture, animal health and husbandry, aquaculture, marine fisheries science, landscape gardening, forestry or recreational farming to explore potential career paths in agriculture through internships on weekends or during vacations, the ministry said.
Students who complete a career exploration internship program of at least 20 days would receive a NT$10,000 scholarship for a semester, it said, adding that outstanding interns in the top half of the program would receive an additional NT$5,000, meaning that by completing a minimum 40 days of internships and with grades meeting the scholarship threshold in both semesters, a student could receive NT$30,000 in an academic year.
Photo: Yang Yuan-ting, Taipei Times
The ministry also provides NT$2 million in casualty insurance and NT$200,000 in injury medical insurance to help protect students engaged in internship activities outside of school, it added.
More than 3,700 students have participated in the scheme since it was launched eight years ago, while more than 2,200 business owners have collaborated with participating schools to provide training, the ministry said.
Students who complete the programs would increase their likelihood of admission if they apply for a government-sponsored special class in agriculture studies, it said.
Six institutions recruit such students: National Chiayi University, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, National Ilan University, National Taitung Junior College, National Chi Nan University and National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology, the ministry said.
The government offers such students a subsidy of up to NT$395,000 across four years of tertiary education, it said, adding that 237 students who participated in the internship program at high school have been admitted to a government-funded agricultural college program.
Those who graduate university and launch an agricultural business can apply for a separate program that provides up to NT$840,000 over three years for agricultural workers aged 18 to 45 with less than two years of agricultural work experience, the ministry said.
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