Tuition and fees for medical education and dental education in Taiwan from 1993 to 2021

Background/purpose: In traditional Taiwan's society, attending medical school or dental school is usually the greatest aspiration of our students. This study tried to explore the evolution of the tuition and fees for medical education and dental education in Taiwan from 1993 to 2021. Materials and methods: This study used the secondary data analysis to survey the changes in the actual amount of the tuition and fees from 1993 to 2021, and the association of tuition and fees with economic indicators. Results: The one-year tuition and fees for medical education increased from 39,020 to 95,200 NT dollars in 1993 to 78,327 and 135,829 NT dollars in 2021 for public and private medical schools, respectively. On the other hand, the one-year tuition and fees for dental education increased from 35,700 to 87,100 NT dollars in 1993 to 71,607 and 130,682 NT dollars in 2021 for public and private dental schools, respectively. Because different increase rates between public and private schools, the gap between tuition and fees per gross domestic product per capita (capita GDP) and those per basic annual salary of labor for public and private schools was shortened year by year. Conclusion: In addition to allowing reasonable increases of tuition and fees, the government should also consider to let the disadvantaged students pay less tuition and fees, assist disadvantaged students through school loans, school grants or scholarships, and improve the opportunities for disadvantaged students to enroll in medical and dental schools through the admission system.