Department of Education, Taipei City Government

●General Information

The Military Education Office was set up in 1968, responsible for overseeing school military and nursing education. At the present, 70 private and public high schools and vocational schools and 2 colleges in Taipei City have included Military Education Offices and instituted full-time military instructors, responsible for teaching general national defense knowledge. Besides educating students on military competency and developing physical fitness, military instructors also undertake student counseling, prevent drug abuse and reduce the number of campus accidents. The aim is to ensure sound academic and moral development. Upon promulgation of the National Defense Education Act on February 2, 2006, school education has become a critical part of national defense education. The purpose is to enhance citizens’ national defense knowledge and awareness at the base level to solidify our national defense power.

●Important Measures

1. Recommend talented officers to offer their services at schools
Outstanding officers with bachelor’s degree (or higher) are screened before they are appointed to various schools to render their services. At the present, there are approximately 467 officers serving at schools across Taipei City. The Department also formulates staff training programs and runs the various continuing education workshops. Instructors are encouraged to pursue continuing education, publish academic papers and serve their positions with professional competency.
2. Refine general national defense education through research,training, assessment and examination
In line with the Ministry of Education’s general national defense curriculum, qualified military instructors are selected to form the teaching material research and publication group to set up a knowledge resource center. Through training, activities, and workshops, we work to achieve the objectives of national defense and general national safety education, conduct evaluations on military and nursing education to enhance teaching quality, and organize live ammunition shooting courses for students and refine shooting education by integrating it with paintball shooting and survival games. The objective is to cultivate the spirit of teamwork and inspect the results of national defense education.
3. Adopt multifaceted approach to reinforce living assistance for students
(1) Renting students:
Offer assistance to and visit renting students on a regular basis, host workshops and pay attention to their living environment. Assist students to resolve problems and liaise with local police and fire stations to enhance their rented accommodation.
(2) Promote the concept of accident prevention and reporting of major disasters:
Carry out round-the-clock campus patrol to keep on top of any security breaches and reduce student accidents to ensure a safe campus environment.
(3) Strengthen off-campus safety:
Maintain off-campus safety and a healthy learning environment, coordinate with the Juvenile Police Department and Police Stations to form the “Downtown Joint Patrol Squad” to crack down drug abuse by students and urge them not to visit places unfit for sound moral development.
(4) Maintain traffic safety:
In light of the fact that traffic accidents cause the highest death rate each year, the Department has taken several measures including enhancing the promotion of “Traffic Safety Education” by cracking down unlicensed motorcyclists and hosting various traffic safety events in hopes of increasing students’ awareness for traffic safety and their own safety.
(5) Guide students to participate in normal leisure activities:
a. Coach students to attend major festive events.
b. Organize student safety prevention camps, educating them the basic safety protection skills.
c. Organize National Defense Lifestyle Experience Camps to educate students on relevant military skills.
d. Hold talent competitions and promote healthy leisure activities.
4. Safeguard campus safety through anti-drug and anti-gang efforts
Continue to carry out the “Chun-Hui” campaign. Keep juveniles away from drugs through anti-drug promotions, drug screening tests, follow-up correction and rehabilitation. Integrate the municipal government’s resources to prevent gangs from infiltrating into campuses. Maintain the approach of “education is the foundation & counseling is the priority”, the Department actively works towards eliminating the spread of organized crime through duty segregation, educational promotion, overall inspection, juvenile protection and placement and counseling services for students to grow up in a safe environment.
5. Ensure appropriate management of substitute service draftees through active care
Outstanding substitute service draftees will be screened before they are deployed to elementary schools/junior high schools/social education facilities to assist with campus administration and general security related affairs while participating in community charity works. In addition, the Department shall ensure appropriate management of substitute service draftees in accordance with the Regulations for Substitute Services Draftees in Training and Duty Services to safeguard draftees’ rights and ensure that they are able to complete their substitute service safely and smoothly.
6. Strengthen disaster prevention awareness across campuses through positive dissemination
(1) Disaster prevention dissemination across campuses:
Cultivate students’ positive and active disaster prevention awareness and value to help them foster the right disaster prevention concepts and knowledge. Through students’ influence and diffusion, elevate the disaster prevention awareness and disaster response capabilities for all residents in Taipei city.
(2) Maintenance of emergency shelters:
Make effective use of the allocated budgets to upgrade the facilities at various emergency shelters to improve the environment within such shelters during events of disaster.

●Future Prospects

1. Encourage military instructors to undertake trainings to solidify their professional competency. Carry out teaching evaluation to enhance the quality of general national defense education.
2. Strengthen students’ off-campus life counseling by disseminating and preventing accidents to ensure students’ physical/psychological well-being.
3. Exercise the overall anti-drug campaign. Promote healthy recreational activities on weekends to keep juvenile students away from harmful drugs and grow up in a safe environment.
4. Strictly prevent the infiltration of gangs into campus to maintain a pure campus environment.
5. Continue to host various study camps including student safety protection, total defense experience and wildlife survival to teach students basic survival skills.
6. Refine substitute service draftees’ management to keep up with the promotion of charitable service activities for the draftees.
7. Improve upon Taipei City’s designated shelters and facilities to ensure the readiness of the temporary shelters so as to achieve speedy and effective shelter services.