No issue for Malaysian non-Chinese students in adapting Taiwan education culture

PETALING JAYA: Malaysian non-Chinese students planning to further their studies in Taiwan will not face any difficulty as its Education Ministry has made it a policy for its tertiary institutions to be international student friendly, said Taiwan's Political Deputy Minister of Education Dr Tsai Ching-Hwa.
Tsai pointed out that not only most of the courses in the 158 public and private tertiary institution in Taiwan are taught in English, they (tertiary institution) are also encouraged to provide various facilities to accommodate the various needs international students might have.
"For example, we have particularly asked for these institutions to have a prayer room or kitchen area for the Muslim students within the campus compound or provide halal certified food available for them in the institution cafeteria," Tsai told theSun on the sidelines of Taiwan Higher Education Fair 2017 held over the weekend at Putra World Trade Centre.
Tsai added that as far as the ministry is concerned, some of the Muslim students have even developed mobile applications that would assist them in locating Muslim-friendly restaurants near the universities they are studying in.
"Overall, most of the non-Chinese students do not experience any language and culture issues when they study in Taiwan.
"Furthermore, we have also requested all the universities and colleges to provide suitable counselling arrangements for these students should they encounter any issues in adapting the study environment in Taiwan," Tsai said.
Tsai then revealed that the number of Malaysian students studying in Taiwan's universities and colleges have been growing steadily over the years with some 16,501 students enrolled for the 2016 academic year, making up 13.79% of the total number of foreign students (116,416) currently studying in Taiwan.
"Hence, to further attract Malaysian students (Chinese or non-Chinese) to further their studies in Taiwan, the ministry has increased its scholarship recipients from 20 to 35 starting from this year.
"Whether or not the amount of recipients will be increased next year, depends on the budget allocation from the Taiwan government. However, some of the Taiwan universities also offered scholarships to outstanding Malaysian students so we welcome them to apply for it," Tsai said.
Tsai added that the ministry's scholarship is open to any outstanding students who wish to undertake a bachelor's degree, a master's degree, or a doctorate program in Taiwan.
Meanwhile, refuting the claims of a lack of job opportunities for Malaysian graduates in Taiwan, Tsai said that Malaysia graduates are among the most employable due to their language proficiency.
"Considering the amount of national resources that are invested in the training and education of all the foreign students who have studied in Taiwan and taking into considering that they have become familiarised with Taiwan's culture and life, as well as some understanding of the Chinese language, these people would be given priority to stay and work in Taiwan," Tsai explained.
Tsai revealed that his government is looking to enact a new law by end of the year to attract more foreign professional to Taiwan.
"Once the law is enacted, many of the current restriction that is limiting the foreign professionals' job opportunities will be relaxed resulting in a win-win situation for all parties," he added.