President William Lai (賴清德) today laid out three key directions for education policy this year: promoting educational equality, ensuring holistic education that prioritizes emerging fields and sustaining investment in education.
He was speaking at the Ministry of Education’s National Excellent Teacher Awards in Taipei.
First, wide-reaching subsidies and benefits would promote educational equality, he said.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Education
School fees have been waived for public and private senior-high schools and vocational high schools, he said.
Moreover, students attending private universities could receive a subsidy of NT$35,000 (US$1,163) and students from low and middle-income backgrounds could receive an additional NT$20,000 and NT$15,000 respectively, Lai said.
Students could further receive monthly accommodation subsidies of NT$5000 for dormitories, while the government has rolled out a NT$30 billion subsidy program for private rented accommodation, which assists up to 790,000 people, he added.
The government has also made transportation benefits available, including TPass perks, while the ministry has funded dormitory renovations and construction projects at universities, he said.
Second, the government has promoted a holistic approach to education, investing in important knowledge for the future, such as artificial intelligence (AI) applications and carbon neutrality, Lai said.
The education system values individual differences among students and teaching methods have been tailored appropriately, inspiring children to reach their full potential while prioritizing balanced physical and mental development, he said.
Additionally, the government has encouraged high schools and universities to jointly design courses, including classes that teach AI and its applications to give students a head start in the field, Lai said.
Courses also include the net zero transition, to help students grasp the importance of carbon neutrality and understand how individuals, businesses and the nation as a whole can move toward good environmental, social and governance practices, he added.
Meanwhile, the “Youth Overseas Dream Fund” program, passed by the Executive Yuan in November last year, would award students up to NT$2 million to study sustainability abroad and bring knowledge of low-carbon policies to Taiwan, he said.
Third, the government would continue sustained investments in education, across elementary, junior-high and senior-high schools, and universities, he said.
Taiwan’s education budget is protected under law and annual spending must not fall below 23 percent of the average government revenue from the past three years, he said.
The Higher Education Sprout Project, already in its second phase, has a five-year budget of NT$97 billion, an increase of NT$13.2 billion compared with its first phase, Lai said.
The project, which began in 2023 and runs until 2027, provides subsidies to 138 universities and colleges to improve teaching quality, promote diversity, boost research capabilities and enhance industry-academia collaboration, he said.
Additional reporting by Rachel Lin
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