Taiwan Education Industry released a survey of rural teachers: only 4.3% expected long-term bonuses, and more than 50% expected a comprehensive increase in salary

Taiwan Educational Industry released the results of a survey on the opinions of rural teachers, believing that retaining teachers requires the establishment of long-term institutional support. (Photo provided by Taiwan Education Industry)

The Ministry of Education encourages teachers to stay in rural areas with the "long-term bonus for school teachers in remote areas". The Taiwan Education Industry Union released the "2026 Teachers' Day Teacher Opinion Survey" today (25th). Among the 273 teachers surveyed in remote, remote and remote areas, only 4.3% listed "long-term bonus and retention subsidies" as their top expectations. On the contrary, 55.4% most wanted to comprehensively review and improve the overall salary.

Kuo Yan-cheng, chairman of Taiwan Education Industry, said that the original intention of long-term bonuses to encourage rural teachers to stay is worthy of recognition. However, rural schools face problems such as overall treatment, insufficient administrative resources, and lack of procedural support for handling parent-teacher disputes. The project subsidies can only serve as a short-term buffer and may not fundamentally solve the problem of teacher attrition and manpower shortage.

Yang Yifei, CEO of the Taiwan Education Industry and Education Policy Think Tank, pointed out that in rural schools, it is common for teachers to hold multiple jobs in small rural areas. If there is a parent-teacher dispute or a school meeting, and there is a lack of immediate legal assistance and professional consultation, occupational insecurity becomes more obvious. If there is only a bonus and no improvement in the working environment, a cycle of "people want to be transferred as soon as the time comes" may form.

In addition to salary, rural teachers also face traffic safety issues when commuting to get off work every day. Xiao Jiayi, chairman of the Yilan County Teachers Professional Union, pointed out that out of the 191 rural school teachers in the county, only 11 are eligible for rural school injury insurance coverage, citing the Yilan County government’s 2025 budget information as an example. She questioned that teachers who commute on mountainous roads every day also face the risks of typhoons, heavy rains, landslides and rockfalls. "Will landslides and rockfalls still cause people to hit them?"

Yang Yifei said that teachers in rural areas must also bear higher gas costs, vehicle wear and tear and living costs. If the policy wants experienced teachers to stay for a long time, transportation, accommodation and safety protection cannot be ignored.

Guo Yancheng called on children in rural areas to need stable and experienced teachers. Education policies should move from special subsidies to long-term institutional guarantees. A comprehensive review of salaries and benefits, improved transportation and accommodation support, and improved injury insurance and safety protection can allow teachers to teach in rural areas for a long time with peace of mind.