《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 Education memorandum with Philippines renewed

/ Staff Writer, with CNA

Taiwan and the Philippines have renewed a memorandum of understanding （MOU） for educational cooperation, extending it for five years to continue promoting exchanges in higher education, Taiwanese officials based in Manila said.

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In accordance with President Tsai Ing-wen’s （蔡英文） “new southbound policy,” educational cooperation and exchanges with the Philippines will continue to deepen under the MOU, the officials said.

The policy seeks to develop closer ties with Southeast and South Asian nations, as well as New Zealand and Australia.

The MOU was first signed in 2012 in an effort to boost exchanges between personnel and educational institutions, and was due to expire on Monday last week.

Filipinos have a good command of English and most of the Philippine population is young, Representative to the Philippines Gary Lin （林松煥） said.

If Filipinos studied in Taiwan, it would help alleviate the problem of low enrollment numbers at the nation’s universities caused by low birth rates, Lin said, adding that Taiwan has good teachers and a sound learning environment.

Filipino students would also have the opportunity to learn more about Taiwan’s culture and gain a better understanding of the nation, he said.

The efforts to boost exchanges in higher education included an MOU last year between Taiwanese universities in the Southern Taiwan Universities Alliance （STUA） and the University of the Philippines （UP） system.

Under the memorandum, STUA offers at least 100 spots per year for teachers from the UP system to study for master’s or doctoral degrees in Taiwan.

Many Taiwanese universities have sent delegations to Philippine schools on academic and educational exchanges.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES