TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Responding to the government’s policy of turning Taiwan into a bilingual country by 2030, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said Saturday (April 10) it would subsidize the employment of 300 English-language teachers from overseas.

Since 2004, the ministry has subsidized 81 foreign teachers per year with an emphasis on outlying areas, CNA reported. For 2021, the figure would be raised to 300, to be recruited by May 15 and to start work from August.

The policy is designed to improve opportunities for elementary and high school students and practice English conversation, while also benefiting the language abilities of local teachers, the MOE said. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) in Taipei City and National Chung Cheng University (CCU) in Chiayi County will be in charge of recruitment, training, and management of the new teachers in north and south Taiwan respectively.

The MOE said it planned to step up cooperation with local government English teaching resource centers and universities. This is intended to help foreign teachers adapt to life in Taiwan and for local schools to make the best use of the teaching talent.