NTHU to launch Taiwan Education Center in India

National Tsing Hua University is set to open a Taiwan Education Center Aug. 1 in New Delhi, India, to teach Mandarin using traditional characters, with the aim of attracting more Indian higher-education students to Taiwan.

The Ministry of Education-commissioned center will be operated by NTHU in collaboration with the private O.P. Jindal Global University in the South Asian nation.

“The opening of this center represents a great opportunity for Taiwan,” said NTHU President Chen Lih-juann July 22.

Under the cooperative project, the Taiwan side will be responsible for recruiting teachers, while the Indian university will provide facilities and teaching materials.

Initially, the plan will offer two Mandarin courses, with 20 students to be enrolled per class. The MOE will provide subsidies to help cover teacher salaries and course fees.

“In recent years, trade between Taiwan and India has grown extremely rapidly, and Mandarin Chinese has therefore become a necessary skill,” said Wang Wei-chung, dean of the NTHU Office of International Affairs.

“India’s higher education rules are very strict, and no foreign schools have ever been formally licensed to recruit students locally,” Wang said, pointing out this is one of the reasons there are only about 400 Indian students enrolled in Taiwan universities.

“Recruiting professors to teach Mandarin Chinese at the new center will be helpful in terms of familiarizing Indian students with Taiwan’s culture, and thereby increase their desire to come to Taiwan for short-term study or postgraduate work,” Wang explained.

Nevertheless, he admitted that recruiting teachers for the program might be difficult given the great cultural differences between the two countries, to which Taiwanese might have trouble adjusting.

However, an NTHU master’s student just back from a year of research in India expressed optimism that Taiwanese teachers could be attracted to the program, noting that the eagerness of Indian students to learn creates a great teaching environment.

“Although Indian educational facilities lag behind those in Taiwan, I’m sure teachers will take on the mission if the salary is right and subsidies are adequate,” she said. (SB)