28 old toilets in 9 schools in Hsinchu City have received subsidies approved by the Ministry of Education to improve the toilet environment

The old toilets of Jiushe Elementary School in Zhushi have been approved for subsidies and will create a safe and bright toilet environment. (provided by the city)

The Hsinchu City Government takes stock of the demand for old campus facilities year by year. The Ministry of Education recently approved the city's "114-116 Public Elementary and Secondary Schools Old Toilet Renovation Project (Batch 2)". This year, a total of 9 schools and 28 toilets were approved. The overall project includes planning and design fees of more than 18.31 million yuan, including 14.65 million yuan in specially allocated taxes from the central government and 3.66 million yuan from the city government. The city government will continue to improve the toilet environment on campus and enhance the quality of campus life for teachers and students.

Mayor Gao Hongan said that in recent years, the city government has continued to take stock of the needs of each school, strive for central resources, and invest in city government matching funds. From 2012 to April 2015, it has invested more than 175.61 million yuan (about 133.17 million yuan in central government funds and more than 42.44 million yuan in city government matching funds), and has subsidized 42 schools and 178 old toilets to improve.

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A total of 28 toilets in 9 schools including Jiushe, Longshan, Shuiyuan, Sanmin, Jiangong, Sunshine Elementary School, and Peiying, Jianhua, and Fuli Junior High Schools will be approved this time. Subsequently, each school will handle planning, design, review, and project contracting in accordance with the content approved by the Ministry of Education and relevant regulations. The city government will continue to monitor the implementation status of each school to create a safer and more comfortable campus.

Gao Hong'an pointed out that the Ministry of Education's old toilet renovation project plan has relevant ranking and approval principles. It comprehensively considers the school's existing subsidies, the age of the school building, the current condition of the facilities and actual needs. Priority is given to improving old toilets that are more than 20 years old, with damaged equipment, blocked pipelines or poor ventilation and lighting, and to simultaneously add barrier-free and gender-friendly toilets. In the future, each school will refer to the "Taiwan Campus Public Toilet Design Guidelines" and related guidelines for planning and design, and introduce the concepts of universal design and equality and inclusion to comprehensively improve the quality of the campus toilet environment.