On the afternoon of April 8, President Ma Ying-jeou met with a group of nuns from the Missionary Sisters Del Sacro Costato in Jianshi Township, Hsinchu County. The group was led by Sister Elena-Pia Frongia, a native of Italy. In addition to praising the nuns for their long years of good works, concern for the needy, and care for children in remote areas, the president also briefed his visitors on the work the ROC government has done to improve education in remote areas and implement pre-school education.
In remarks, President Ma noted that Sister Elena-Pia first came to Taiwan from Italy in 1961 at the age of just 29 to serve the people of Jianshi Township in Hsinchu County. Taiwan at that time was a rather poor country, so she had to make her rounds on foot, and could always be seen with a conical farmer's hat on her head and a bamboo walking stick in hand. But to care for the needs of the local indigenous residents, she was willing to walk any distance, no matter how far, to treat the sick and help impoverished children pay their school tuition and fees. After a 1972 typhoon wrought havoc in the mountainous districts of Hsinchu and destroyed the church and kindergarten where Sister Elena-Pia worked, she set to the task of rebuilding. Before the end of that same year she had completed construction of a Franciscan kindergarten providing a full range of care to local children from ages two through seven including daycare, after-school study, and an infant nursery. Today, 44 years later, that same facility is still going strong, caring for some 80 daycare children. Over the years, members of the local Naro tribe have come to think of her as the "caretaker of the Naro."
President Ma pointed out that Sister Elena-Pia, who is now 84, has helped countless children from poor families during her 55 years of service in Taiwan, and two years ago was named Jianshi Township's "Good Samaritan" for 2014.
Commenting on the government's measures to improve education in remote areas, the president stated that according to statistics from the Ministry of Education there are currently 1,127 elementary and junior high schools in Taiwan's remote areas, or 31% of the nation's total. Of these, 360 schools (32% of all remote schools) have 50 or fewer students.
In order to improve the study environment in remote areas, remarked the president, the Ministry of Education in 2015 launched the Rural Education Development Project, which includes both experimental schools and experimental curricula designed to help transform schools and provide students with a more diverse range of learning opportunities.
The president pointed out that the government has waived school tuition for five-year-olds since the 2011 school year, and as of the end of the 2014 school year that policy had provided education subsidies of over NT$20 billion to more than 760,000 people. In the current school year, the rate of school enrolment among five-year-olds is over 96% for the population at large, as well as for children from disadvantaged families.
The president mentioned that the government launched the Mackay Program in June of 2011 to provide all foreign clergy aged 60 or older who have served in Taiwan for at least 25 years with the same benefits enjoyed by ROC nationals aged 65 or older. This program was launched, he said, as a way to thank these people for their selfless service to the people of Taiwan.