TAIPEI (TVBS News) — In a public school in New Taipei City, university students are crafting engaging teaching materials to aid elementary school students in learning English in a stress-free environment.
This initiative was developed in collaboration between businesses and universities to assist students in remote areas who need to catch up in their English classes.
However, societal inequality and economic disparities have resulted in a shortage of resources being allocated to disadvantaged groups.
"We first discovered that some students struggled with the basic alphabet," university student He Hsin-yu remarked, adding that after adding additional English lessons, the children's grades improved.
Since 2019, the Taiwanese government has been actively pushing for the country to become bilingual by 2030.
To promote and implement bilingual lessons, the government allocated a budget of NT＄10 billion from 2021 to 2024.
The majority of this budget, at 30%, was spent on hiring foreign language teachers. The remaining portion was used to develop high school students' lesson plans and establish bilingual schools.
Unfortunately, only NT＄456 million was allocated to support students in remote areas.
This is not nearly enough to actually help the students there, according to Chen Chao-ming, a chair professor at the Chihlee University of Technology.
"Many parents in urban areas have already sent their children to bilingual cram schools or abroad, even before the official bilingual programs are rolled out," he said.
"However, for students in remote areas, such resources are either nonexistent or not financially feasible."
Chen believes the government should allocate more funds to provide resources to such schools.
As Taiwan moves forward in its pursuit of becoming a bilingual nation, there have been rising concerns that disadvantaged students from remote areas might be left behind.
Such students are more vulnerable to being excluded from society, further widening the gap of inequality.