TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taichung City Government will spend NT$450 million (US$14.1 million) over three years to replace 150,000 desks and chairs in junior high and elementary schools with adjustable ones.
The city government said Thursday that the new desks and chairs can be adjusted to match students’ heights. Officials said furniture that does not fit a child’s size can affect posture, physical development, and concentration in class.
CNA reported that Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) visited Tung Xing Elementary School in Nantun District to check the second phase of distribution. She said she had once volunteered at the school and understood concerns about students sitting for long hours on hard wooden chairs.
The city government said the replaced wooden desks and chairs are first listed on Taipei’s public online reuse platform, with auction proceeds returned to the public treasury. Unsold items are reassigned for school activities or made available to families in need, per Yahoo News.
Officials noted that some children lack proper desks at home and must study at low dining tables or on the floor, per Liberty Times. Students and families have already collected more than 4,000 sets to improve home study environments.
The city’s Education Bureau said 47,144 sets were replaced in the first phase of the plan. More than 70% were reused through internal school transfers, cross-school reallocations, online auctions, or taken by families.
The bureau added that the second phase will replace more than 57,000 desks and chairs for seventh graders and elementary middle-grade students.
