MOE Primary and Secondary School International Educational Exchange Alliance and Board of Education of Chiba Prefecture Sign MOU on Exchanges
The Ministry of Education’s Primary and Secondary School International Educational Exchange Alliance and the Chiba Prefectural Board of Education signed an MOU at a ceremony on January 25 to encourage interaction between Taiwanese and Japanese high school students through educational field trips. The Governor of Chiba Mr. Toshihito Kumagai proposed the signing of such an exchange agreement when he visited Taiwan in November last year. During the four months after his return to Japan, the governor actively worked to put together the agreement.
The MOU was signed by Lee Chong-Y, the Executive Director of the Primary and Secondary School International Educational Exchange Alliance, and by Ms. Tomizuka Masako, the Head of the Board of Education of Chiba. The signing ceremony was attended by approximately 40 people including the principals of Daan Vocational High School in Taipei, Zhonghe Senior High School in New Taipei City, and Nei-Li Senior High School in Taoyuan, officials from the Education Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan, the Board of Education of Chiba Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture Tourism and Products Association, as well as media representatives.
Executive Director Lee explained that the Association had been founded in 2023 to nurture the core values of multiculturalism and international understanding among students, in response to the globalization trends in primary and secondary education. The main objectives of the MOU include encouraging lower secondary level students to interact with international students in areas such as physical education, culture, arts, and SDG topics, and promoting the students’ developing international horizons. Chiba Education Board Head Ms. Tomizuka said that Chiba Prefecture has been sending teachers to Taiwan on professional exchanges since 2016. They have been promoting vocational schools in agriculture, industrial, and commercial fields making visits to related companies since 2018, and approximately 2,000 students from Chiba went to Taiwan on educational field trips before the outbreak of the pandemic. Executive Director Lee and Ms. Tomizuka both affirmed that this MOU will help to deepen educational cooperation between Taiwan and Chiba, as well as promoting opportunities for international interaction between schools and exchange opportunities for students.
