Taiwan’s First Elementary School Group Visits to India
In January, 2025 a group of four teachers accompanied fifteen students in grades 4, 5 or 6 from Dong Xing Elementary School in Hsinchu County in Taiwan on an eight-day visit to India. They were hosted in India by Evergreen Public School in East Delhi where they took part in an international exchange program. This was the first time that a group of students from an elementary school in Taiwan has visited India for an international exchange and they participated in hands-on activities, including demonstrations on connecting and testing circuit boards, and cultural performances.
A main idea behind the promotion of this pilot visit was to increase collaborations between India and Taiwan at the elementary and secondary school level, and it followed three years of virtual interactions between the schools. Peters L.Y. Chen 陳立穎, Director of the Education Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in India, spoke of the importance of fostering international education ties at this level. “India and Taiwan can develop a better understanding of each other’s culture and education from the younger generation. School children are at an impressionable age and interactions between our school children create a foundation for future friendly relations between Taiwan and India in many fields, including investment, human resource mobility, research, and technology” he explained.
The week-long visit culminated in a cultural evening on January 21, 2025 during which the visiting students and Indian students gave a variety of performances, showcasing some of the rich heritage of their respective cultures. “Art and education are powerful bridges that connect hearts and also inspire futures built on the idea of a unity in diversity. Events like these strengthen cross-cultural understanding and pave the way for future collaborations,” said Education Division Director Chen.
Mr. Chang Po-Yu 張博裕, the Director of Student Affairs at Dong Xing Elementary School, and people from other Indian schools echoed similar sentiments about the value of cross-cultural exchanges. And after the performances the visiting students talked to Education Division personnel about their experience of being in India and their visits to the Taj Mahal and other heritage sites.
Ms. Sunayana Gupta, Coordinator for International Projects at Evergreen Public School commended the efforts made by Taiwan’s government to spearhead the process of making global education accessible and available to everyone. "Following the global impact of COVID-19 it was only Taiwan which engaged in increasing collaboration between schools in Taiwan and schools in India so actively”, she said. She mentioned that Taiwan alone focused on driving student exchange programs, at the time when others were struggling to move past the deliberation process, and she spoke about how other nations should learn from the importance that Taiwan gives to providing high quality education for its students.
Peters Chen initiated the India–Taiwan school collaborations with a landmark MOU signed in March 2022, after the COVID-19 pandemic with its global impact. Since then, 100 Indian schools have joined the MOE’s international education platform, participating in various virtual and in-person activities designed to deepen cultural and educational connections.
This pilot visit to India by a group of elementary school students from Taiwan is a testament to the MOE’s work to build strong educational and cultural collaborations between India and Taiwan, and foster mutual understanding on the part of their younger generations. International education programs that they can participate in contribute to a future of shared growth, innovation, and friendship between India and Taiwan.
