Taiwan’s government has finished fitting and testing air conditioners in every public school classroom in the country. More than a year’s work and US$1.2 billion has gone into the project to put 184,000 devices into elementary, middle and high schools across Taiwan.
Senior government figures celebrated the achievement on Monday at an elementary school in Pingtung in Taiwan’s tropical south.
Premier Su Tseng-chang says the local temperature is already at 32 degrees Celsius in spring, and summer afternoons without air conditioning can be almost unbearable for school children.
Education Minister Pan Wen-chung says the new air conditioning will give pupils a comfortable learning environment. He says the government will pay for schools’ extra electricity and maintenance costs.
Going forward, the education minister says authorities will install solar panels and plant trees to help with cooling and provide a green energy source.