TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's Premier Chen Chien-jen has endorsed a subsidy plan to provide each on-campus student with NT＄5,000 per semester, and disadvantaged students with NT＄7,000, starting February 2024.
The subsidies, aimed at students in public and private universities, were discussed in a joint meeting on Wednesday between the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Ministry of the Interior (MOI). Initially, the plan proposed monthly payments of NT＄1,200 or NT＄1,500. However, Chen's administration revised the scheme to a per-semester basis.
The revised plan will offer a standard NT＄5,000 per semester, with an additional NT$2,000 for disadvantaged students, in the form of routine remittances. This initiative is expected to cost nearly NT＄2.8 billion annually, funded by the MOI's housing fund.
Approximately 275,000 university students are projected to benefit from this plan, which is anticipated to be ratified at the upcoming Executive Yuan meeting next Thursday. Premier Chen emphasized the government's strategic commitment to enhancing the support and well-being of the nation's university students.