TAIPEI (TVBS News) — The rate of poor vision among elementary and junior high school students in Taipei City increases with grade level, according to the Department of Budget, Accounting, and Statistics of the Taipei City Government.
The lowest rate of poor vision is among first graders at 25.9%, while the highest is among ninth graders at 77.4%. Furthermore, female students generally have a higher rate of poor vision than male students.
According to statistics from Taipei City's Department of Education, the rates of poor vision among elementary and junior high school students in the 2023 academic year were 73.4% and 45.0%, respectively. Compared to the 2022 academic year, these figures represent a decrease of 1.7 percentage points and an increase of 0.1 percentage points.
Compared to the 2014 academic year, the rate of poor vision has improved across all grades. This improvement is mainly due to the city government's initiative to provide annual professional vision screenings for elementary school students, encouraging regular check-ups and promoting correct eye care habits and behaviors.
In the 2023 academic year, the rates of poor vision among junior high school female and male students were 75.4% and 71.6%, respectively, a gender gap of 3.8 percentage points, higher than the 1.5 percentage points in elementary schools.
Looking at the type of school, the highest rate of poor vision among elementary students was in public schools, at 52.2%. Among junior high students, those in private schools had the highest rate at 75.7%, higher than 73.0% in city schools and 68.3% in state schools.