Taiwan

Nonformal education in Taiwan has historically consisted of forms of social education that are designed to augment the levels of cultural education (for example, in fine arts, music, and dance) and vocational training (for example, cooking and traditional crafts). However, since the enactment of the remarkably inclusive Compulsory Education Law in 1982, almost all aspects of education in Taiwan have become highly formalized, so much so that nonformal educational options have been largely eclipsed. Within the formal system, the demand that parents present children for an education is absolute, with penalties (usually fines) administered for dropping out, chronic truancy, and disobedience. As might be expected, the comprehensive nature of such a system has necessarily obliged the government to be increasingly responsive to accommodating the needs of the disabled. Although the first Special Education Law was enacted only as recently as 1982, the incorporation of students who formerly had only nonformal options into the formal system is the area in which the educational system of Taiwan has made its greatest strides. Thanks to that law, the dispersal of appropriate services to the disabled has become both a reality and a matter of public record. Moreover, as Article 160 of the ROC constitution stipulates, anyone who can substantiate a failure to benefit from the system (for example, an older individual whose compulsory education was neglected or interrupted) must be legally redressed and compensated by having educational access and supplementary instruction made available free of charge.