The Ministry of Education announced Aug. 17 a series of amendments to admissions regulations designed to bring in more foreign students to Taiwan’s schools.
The amendments, set to take effect in February 2011, include relaxing the definition of a foreign student, allowing schools at all levels to use foreign students to complete unfilled admissions quotas for local students, and simplifying application procedures.
All students holding foreign passports, even if one of their parents is an ROC citizen, will now be eligible as foreign students, thus providing a broader definition and increasing the potential pool of applicants.
“With this looser definition, the number of foreign students is expected to increase by 8 percent, or 600 individuals, in the 2011 academic year, ” the MOE said.
MOE statistics show that the annual number of foreign students has been on the rise since 2005. A total of 7,764 foreign students came to Taiwan to obtain a degree in 2009, 2.72 times more than in 2005.
If language course and exchange students are counted, foreign students totaled 22,366 last year, compared with 11,729 in 2005.
Most international students studying for a degree in Taiwan are from Southeast Asian countries. “As Malaysia joins India in recognizing Taiwanese diplomas, we believe it will help boost the number of foreign students,” said Chu To-ming, an MOE official.
An influx of students from other countries will create greater revenues for universities, enabling them to invest more in making English the language of instruction. As campuses become more international, they will in turn continue to attract more international students, the MOE noted. (THN)
Write to Elaine Hou at elainehou@mail.gio.gov.tw