Government standards for student housing and student loans raise concerns

["Taiwan Church News" <enews@pctpress.org>]

3109 Edition

September 26-October 2, 2011

Headline News

Government standards for student housing and student loans raise concerns

Reported by Lin Yi-ying

Written by Lydia Ma

A fire that broke out in one of the dormitories of National Dong Hua University 
in March 2011, which resulted in 1 death and 12 injuries, has raised concerns 
about the safety of student dormitories.

Taiwan Alliance for Advancement of Youth Rights and Welfare (TAAWRW) 
underscored that, according to statistics from the Ministry of Education (MOE), 
670,000 out of 1.34 million college students in Taiwan live away from their 
homes and 330,000 of them do not live in on-campus dormitories. Are these 
students’ living quarters safe?

According to TAAYRW, many apartments rented by students outside but in the 
vicinity of their schools are unsafe due to lack of functioning fire 
extinguishers, emergency exits, and other safety mechanisms.

TAAYRW reported that though the MOE has begun investigations and has also added 
stricter building safety codes for on-campus and off-campus residences, the 
lack of financial and human resources has forced many schools to either do 
nothing or deal with the problem superficially just to pacify the MOE.

There have been reports of student housing apartments that resemble iron huts 
or whose balconies are merely iron planks added to the side. Some report very 
poor ventilation where carbon monoxide poisoning from stoves is inevitable.

Due to concerns about building safety and budget constraints, students at Dong 
Hua University experienced a bumpy start this fall when classes resumed on 
September 26, 2011 because their dormitories were not yet ready. In the end, 
living arrangements were made so that freshmen at Dong Hua could live in nearby 
universities such as Tzu-Chi University, Dahan Institute of Technology, Taiwan 
Hospitality and Tourism College, etc. 

This last minute arrangement has made campus fellowship meetings a challenge, 
said PCT College Ministries Hualien Center pastor, Rev. Lin Shi-hau. His office 
has decided to use vanpool for the time being to get all students to a church 
near the Dong Hua’s main campus for Sunday worship and weekday cell group 
activities..

However, safety and daily transportation hassles may not be the only thing that 
college students need to worry about. The possibility that college students may 
still be paying back their student loans when they are 75 years old has raised 
more than a few eyebrows lately.

In an attempt to alleviate the financial pressures students face upon 
graduation, especially those who made it through college through the help of 
student loans, President Ma recently announced that the deadline to fully pay 
back loans may be extended to 43 years after graduation.

In response, Anti-Poverty Alliance members called a press conference on 
September 21, 2011, and underscored that the only way to help alleviate the 
pressures of paying back loans is by allowing students to pay back their loans 
according to their financial ability to pay and increasing the number of 
student grants and loans would help alleviate the pressures of paying back 
loans.

Anti-Poverty Alliance Convener Chien Hsi-chieh underscored that though 
President Ma had said he’d extend the time frame to pay student loans to 43 
years, the idea is still absurd. “Who, in their 70s, still pays their student 
loans? “ he asked.

He added that, under dire circumstances, credit card debts that reach court 
mediation stage with banks are only good for up to 8 years, after which debts 
will be forgiven. It doesn’t make sense to have young people carry this burden 
for 43 years, especially since young people these days care a lot about having 
good credit.

 

 

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