The whole world is going through the most challenging condition due to the Covid 19 pandemic outbreak. The health impact of it is already known to everyone as it has already caused 2.35 m deaths throughout the world. Apart from that, the pandemic situation has caused an economic shock for most countries by forcing their industries to get into a locked-down situation. Now, it is time to pay attention to the education scenario. Several countries decided to prevent international students from visiting their place for educational purposes, and Taiwan is among them. Taiwan has started suspending non-resident foreigners’ entrance on January 1, and the schools of Taiwan have halted the entry permit applications for all international students. The MOE has told CAN that it has issued a directive for suspending the entrance to all international students for at least one month on December 31. This kind of decision can be regarded as a part of the intensified effort that the government provides to restrict the spread of Covid_19. All international students, even those from Hong Kong, China, and Macau and those who were obtaining the Taiwan Scholarships, were subject to this kind of suspension. The MOW has also stated that the suspension was the response to the Central Epidemic Command Centre’s decision that was taken on December 30. Though it was an economically frustrating decision, the government has faced the requirement to take such a decision by considering the health-related security of the native ones. However, one month of the decision has gone by, and the government was assured that they would change their decision after one month by considering the Covid_19 –related situation. Now, a change has been decided against the government, and a discussion regarding it will be elaborated here.
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Now international students are allowed to enter Taiwan
On late Monday, the Ministry of Education has announced that all international students who the Taiwan Government approves are now allowed to enter Taiwan. MOE has stated that international students who include all degree students and the students who are receiving Ministry of Foreign Affairs Scholarship are permitted to enter this place. However, in this regard, they are required to maintain some protocols, and it is also essential for them to go through some processes and procedures. Upon arrival, they are required to produce a negative nucleic acid test report. Apart from that, all of these students are required to complete 14 days of home quarantine before starting their educational work while visiting the universities or other places. These are not enough. These students are required to undergo several medical tests, and after which they are required to be involved in a seven-day health management plan. If a student can maintain all of these protocols effectively and if the student can achieve the required outcome, they will not face any difficulty in regard to continuing their studies in Taiwan.
Processes that international students should follow in order to continue their study in Taiwan
Potential international students are required to contact their school of Taiwan first. The schools would help them to arrange immigration entry-related affairs. After that, the schools are required to fill out the official entry permit application forms, and the documents are required to be submitted to MOE. All of the international students who are thinking of visiting Taiwan are expected to know that they will face the requirement to submit a negative covid_19 certificate within only three days of boarding, and MOE has stated it in a press release. Going through the quarantine phase is highly important for them. The MOE has noted that students interested in spending their quarantine period in the government quarantine center must be involved in a test before the quarantine period gets finished. They will not be allowed to leave the center until the result of the test will come negative. Students who will spend their quarantine days in quarantine hotels will be tested after the accomplishment of the 14 days quarantine phase, and it means that they will face the requirement to book the hotel for 16 days. After the achievement of the quarantine phase, all international students have to involve themselves in self-health management processes. It will be the seven days’ schedule, and during this time period, all of these students will face the requirement to wear a surgical mask at all times. In addition, they are also instructed to take their temperature twice a day, and they will not be allowed to visit public places in this time period.
Universities are required to help international students in this regard
In this regard, universities are required to take on some responsibilities in order to make the journey of these international students smoother. According to the statement of MOE, universities are needed to help the students to book rooms for epidemic hotels. It has already been stated that they have to book the hotel for 16 days. Finding out an epidemic hotel in a new place can genuinely be a hectic task for international students, and this is the reason why universities have to help them in this regard. By paying adequate attention to the lengthy application and acceptance processes, the universities of Taiwan are required to provide the government with an official roster of foreign students who are visiting Taiwan within five working days before the students are seemed to arrive. These are some official procedures that the universities are required to maintain, and all of these procedures have been set by considering the safety of Taiwan dwellers and the requirement of restarting the educational system with international students as the economic factors have to be provided with adequate attention even in this pandemic phase.
