Taiwan varsities wooing Muslim students
> Tertiary institutions encouraged to provide prayer room and halal food
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 ( pix).
Tsai pointed out that not only are most of the courses in the 158 public and private tertiary institutions in Taiwan taught in English, the institutions are also encouraged to provide facilities to accommodate needs the international students might have.
“For example, we have particularly asked these institutions to provide a prayer room or kitchen area for Muslim students within the campus compound or provide halal-certified food for them in their cafeteria,” Tsai told theSun on the sidelines of the Taiwan Higher Education Fair 2017 held over the weekend at Putra World Trade Centre.
Tsai added that some Muslim students have even developed mobile applications that assist them in locating Muslim-friendly restaurants near the universities they are studying in.
“Overall, most non-Chinese students do not experience any language and culture issues when they study in Taiwan.
“We have also requested all the universities and colleges to provide suitable counselling arrangements for these students should they encounter any issues in adapting to the study environment in Taiwan.”
Tsai said the number of Malaysian students in Taiwan universities and colleges has been growing steadily over the years, with some 16,500 students enrolled for the 2016 academic year, making up 13.79% of the total number of foreign students (116,416) currently in Taiwan. “To attract more Malaysian students (Chinese or non-Chinese), the ministry has increased its scholarship recipients from 20 to 35 beginning this year. “Whether or not the number of recipients will be increased next year depends on the budget allocation from the Taiwan government. However, some of the universities also offered scholarships to outstanding Malaysian students, so we welcome them to apply for them.” In refuting claims of a lack of job opportunities for Malaysian graduates in Taiwan, Tsai said such 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 consideration that they have familiarised themselves 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.” He said his government is looking to enact a new law by end of the year to attract more foreign professionals to Taiwan. “Once the law is enacted, many of the current restrictions will be relaxed for a win-win situation for all parties,” he added.