Taipei, July 18 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian said Friday that the government will do everything possible to help relieve the burden of tuition fees for college students.
The president made the remarks when he attended the 9th college and university expo at the Taipei Stadium. The expo was held simultaneously in southern, central and northern Taiwan.
Chen noted that he dropped out of university in his first semester because he disliked the department of business. He had to re-take the joint examination the following year to get into the department of law of the National Taiwan University. "If there were a college expo then, I wouldn't have had to spend an extra year at school," Chen said.
The president, who rose from being the son of a poor tenant farmer to the highest position in the nation, then talked about educational reforms and rising tuition fees.
Addressing recent criticism that he is unconcerned about the rising tuition fees, Chen said that if the public read his on-line newsletters, they will not have such a misunderstanding but will find out that "since the government has already helped the students enter universities through various channels, the government will also not ignore the issue of rising tuition fees and will do everything possible to cut their financial burden."
He noted that in his newsletter dated June 12, he said that "the government and the colleges have the obligation and the responsibility to create better conditions for young people so that they will have the opportunity to finish university education."
He expressed hope that the colleges and universities will take the initiative to help students with financial planning and solve the rising tuition fee problem through student loans, cooperation with enterprises, and offering part-time jobs to students.
He noted that he decided to set up a student loan fund at the end of last year and added that interest rate on student loans has since been cut to 2.95 percent from the original 6.25 percent, representing total savings of more than NT$1.5 billion (US$43.47 million) for the students.