When it comes to the education of students in rural areas, it will take more than money to improve their lot, National Taiwan Normal University professors Sharon Chen (
"Simply allocating sporadic funding or temporary aid, whether monetary or human resources, will not help," they told a press conference in Taipei.
In a two-year study supported by the National Science Council (NSC), Chen and Wang's team investigated 225 rural junior-high schools and found that the shortage of resources, teachers and funding hindered many students from academic success.
"Young teachers come for a year or two before they land permanent jobs in cities; the teachers are overworked because of staff shortages; the schools lack information technology facilities; and the community does not offer the public resources needed for youngsters to succeed in schools," Chen said.
Seventy-five percent of junior-high schools in eastern Taiwan and outlying islands are considered "rural," the study said, compared with less than 30 percent in the north, center and south of the country.
Schools that face the most difficulty are those that are "in-between states," meaning they are "not predominantly Aboriginal, nor are they so rural that they draw massive public attention," Chen said.
"The low socioeconomic status and education level of the parents and low level of cultural stimulation worsen the students' chances of getting into good tertiary schools," Chen said.
"City parents complain to teachers about assigning too much homework, since students have a lot of afterschool activities," she said. "But in rural areas the complaints come from the grandparents, who are rearing the children while their parents work in cities, because most of the homework is too difficult for the students, and the grandparents aren't capable of teaching the kids either."
Wang said the solution would require long-term commitment and a multi-disciplinary effort. Increasing the incentives for students to excel would also be key, she said.
Taiwan yesterday condemned the recent increase in Chinese coast guard-escorted fishing vessels operating illegally in waters around the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. Unusually large groupings of Chinese fishing vessels began to appear around the islands on Feb. 15, when at least six motherships and 29 smaller boats were sighted, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a news release. While CGA vessels were dispatched to expel the Chinese boats, Chinese coast guard ships trespassed into Taiwan’s restricted waters and unsuccessfully attempted to interfere, the CGA said. Due to the provocation, the CGA initiated an operation to increase
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
The Chinese military has boosted its capability to fight at a high tempo using the element of surprise and new technology, the Ministry of National Defense said in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) published on Monday last week. The ministry highlighted Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) developments showing significant changes in Beijing’s strategy for war on Taiwan. The PLA has made significant headway in building capabilities for all-weather, multi-domain intelligence, surveillance, operational control and a joint air-sea blockade against Taiwan’s lines of communication, it said. The PLA has also improved its capabilities in direct amphibious assault operations aimed at seizing strategically important beaches,
‘MALIGN PURPOSE’: Governments around the world conduct espionage operations, but China’s is different, as its ultimate goal is annexation, a think tank head said Taiwan is facing a growing existential threat from its own people spying for China, experts said, as the government seeks to toughen measures to stop Beijing’s infiltration efforts and deter Taiwanese turncoats. While Beijing and Taipei have been spying on each other for years, experts said that espionage posed a bigger threat to Taiwan due to the risk of a Chinese attack. Taiwan’s intelligence agency said China used “diverse channels and tactics” to infiltrate the nation’s military, government agencies and pro-China organizations. The main targets were retired and active members of the military, persuaded by money, blackmail or pro-China ideology to steal
RSS