The Ministry of Education publicly commended five local schools Wednesday for their devotion to remedial education and five students who have made significant progress in their academic performance under the program. Wen Chun-wei from Chihshang Junior High School in the eastern county of Taitung caught the most attention because he has seen his math scores improve from just 2 to 96 out of 100. The following are excerpts of local media reports on the issue Thursday: United Daily News: Wen had performed poorly in his schoolwork, especially mathematics, since he was in elementary school. He needed to use his fingers to add seven plus eight and once received only 2 points in a test while in junior high school. Lacking a sense of achievement, the boy became a troublemaker and once hit a teacher with a chair. The situation, however, took a dramatic turn in the eighth grade after he joined a math remedial class provided by teacher Chan Yung-ming. Attracted to Chan's fun-filled math teaching methods, the boy began to visit the teacher at his office after class every day to try to make up for what he had missed in the past. "I've never seen another student who has done that. He is the most unforgettable student I have had throughout my more-than 10 years of teaching," Chan said. In the ninth grade, the boy once obtained as high as 96 points in math. His performance in other subjects has also begun to improve and he is now praised by teachers as a well-mannered student. China
Times: In line with the government's efforts to implement a 12-year education program, the Education Ministry has been expanding remedial education. The ministry has set aside a budget of NT$1.49 billion this year to help 160,000 underachieving elementary and junior high students. An evaluation by the ministry has found that 60 percent of the students who take these remedial classes have improved academically.