In accordance with the additional provisions in the Amendment to Article 10 of the Constitution, based on the aspirations of indigenous people, the government shall protect the right of indigenous peoples to education, and train and educate the skilled people they require, and this Act has been specially formulated in order to facilitate the development of indigenous peoples.

Indigenous education shall have as its aims the safeguarding of the dignity and honor of indigenous people, ensuring the continuing vitality of each indigenous people, and advancing the well-being of indigenous people, and boosting indigenous people’s sense of collective pride in their identity.
The government shall promote indigenous education based on the principles of diversity, equality, autonomy, and respect and shall give priority to giving serious consideration to the requirements of indigenous peoples for historical justice and transitional justice.
Indigenous people are the principle concern of indigenous education. The right of individual indigenous people to education and the collective rights to education of the indigenous peoples shall be safeguarded.
Governments at all levels shall actively take assistance measures to ensure that indigenous people have equal opportunities to access education of all kinds at all levels, and establish an education system that meets the specific needs of indigenous peoples.

In this Act the term “competent education authority” refers to: the Ministry of Education at the central level; the local municipal government at the municipal level; and the local county or city government at the county or city level, respectively.
In this Act, the term “competent indigenous peoples’ affairs authority” refers to: the Council of Indigenous Peoples of the Executive Yuan at the central level the local municipal government at the municipal level; and the local county or city government at the county or city level, respectively.
General education for indigenous peoples shall be planned and handled by the competent education authority. Ethnic education for indigenous peoples shall be planned and handled by the competent indigenous peoples’ affairs authority in conjunction with the competent education authority.
The central competent education authority shall designate a unit to be specifically responsible for indigenous peoples’ general education. Each municipal, county or city competent education authority shall designate a unit or person to be specifically responsible for indigenous peoples’ general education.
The criteria to be met to be designated as one of the specifically responsible units or persons referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be prescribed in the enforcement rules of this Act.

The terms used in this Act are defined as follows:
1. Indigenous education: A generic term referring to general education and ethnic education for indigenous peoples.
2. Ethnic education: refers to education, based on the cultural characteristics of different indigenous peoples, providing the knowledge that belongs to different indigenous ethnicities to indigenous students.
3. General education: refers to education of a general nature provided to indigenous students in addition to the ethnic education referred to in the preceding subparagraph.
4. Indigenous schools: refers to educational institutions that focus primarily on the knowledge systems of indigenous peoples and implement the provision of education in accordance with the educational philosophy and goals of the particular indigenous people being taught.
5. Indigenous key schools: refers to schools at senior secondary level and below with at least a specific number or proportion of indigenous students.
6. Indigenous classes: refers to classes organized in ordinary schools to meet indigenous students’ education needs.
7. Indigenous education teachers: refers to teachers responsible for teaching indigenous education courses in indigenous schools, in indigenous key schools, or to indigenous classes.
8. Tribal and community education: refers to lifelong learning programs provided to indigenous peoples to enhance innovation of indigenous culture, train highly skilled people for tribal and community development, and modernize the education undertaken by citizens.
The specific number or proportion referred to in Subparagraph 5 of the preceding paragraph shall be stipulated in the enforcement rules of this Act.

In order to develop and strengthen the knowledge systems of indigenous peoples, the central competent indigenous peoples’ affairs authority shall consult with the competent education authority, the competent science and technology authority, and the competent culture authority and construct mid- and long-range plans pertaining to the knowledge systems of indigenous peoples, and proactively provide incentives for academic study of indigenous peoples and research of the knowledge of each indigenous people.
The mid- and long-range plans referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be comprehensively reviewed at least once every five years and made public.

Governments at all levels shall encourage educational institutions of all types and at all levels to provide the educational requirements of indigenous students by using indigenous languages and teaching methods that suit the cultures of their indigenous students.
Educational institutions shall make use of administrative activities and campus spaces to promote education about indigenous peoples and multicultural education.

The central competent education authority and the central competent indigenous peoples’ affairs authority shall jointly convene indigenous education policy meetings to conduct consultation about indigenous education policy planning regarding the following:
1. The indigenous education system;
2. Constructing mid- and long-range plans regarding the knowledge systems of indigenous peoples;
3. Plans for the development of indigenous education;
4. Consultation across ministries and departments regarding indigenous education related matters;
5. Other matters related to indigenous education.
The number of members of the committee holding the policy meetings referred to in the preceding paragraph who have an indigenous identity is not permitted to be less than half of the total number of members and it shall be constituted to ensure that all local ethnic groups are proportionately represented. The number of committee members of any one gender is not permitted to be less than one-third of the total number of members.
To coordinate and communicate about indigenous education policies, the central competent education authority and the central competent indigenous peoples’ affairs authority may conduct regular coordination meetings with the municipal, county, and city governments (hereunder referred to as “local governments”).

If municipalities and the areas and cities under their jurisdiction have indigenous peoples’ regions and if counties or cities have indigenous key schools, the local government shall convene an indigenous education council for each such municipality, county or city to undertake due deliberation of local indigenous education affairs.
The number of members of the council referred to in the preceding paragraph who have an indigenous identity is not permitted to be less than half of the total number of members, and the council shall be constituted to ensure that all local ethnic groups are proportionately represented. The number of council members of any one gender is not permitted to be less than one-third of the total number of members.

In conjunction with the central competent indigenous peoples’ affairs authority, the central competent education authority shall formulate plans for the development of indigenous education.
Local governments shall consider the characteristic cultures of the local indigenous peoples and then formulate education projects in accordance with the plans referred to in the preceding paragraph and submit the projects to the central competent education authority and the central competent indigenous peoples’ affairs authority for reference.

In light of the characteristic cultures of local indigenous peoples and local needs to implement ethnic education, governments at all levels may relax the normal restrictions governing personnel staffing numbers for indigenous key schools and indigenous classes.
An indigenous key school that provides elementary and/or junior high school level education may only undergo a merger with another school or close down, if written consent is obtained from at least half of the indigenous people in the school district concerned who have their household registration there and have reached adulthood; the provisions of this article only apply to the junior high school division of an indigenous key school that provides both junior high school and senior secondary school level education.

The central government shall increase the number of dedicated budget items and allocate funding specially designated for indigenous education. The total funding for indigenous education is not permitted to be less than one point nine percent (1.9%) of the central competent education authority’s total budget, and the funding shall increase year by year based on requirements.
The scope of the use of the budget funding referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be limited exclusively to expenses incurred for the general education and ethnic education of indigenous people, and associated matters actively providing support. The regulations governing the scope of the expenses incurred for indigenous education, how they must be designated, and other related matters shall be prescribed by the central competent education authority in conjunction with the central competent indigenous peoples’ affairs authority.
Governments at all levels shall encourage domestic and foreign organizations, groups, and individuals to donate funds to help advance indigenous education.

Governments at all levels shall consult with local indigenous peoples, tribes, and/or other traditional organizations regarding the planning and implementation of ethnic education in schools at senior secondary level and below in indigenous peoples’ regions in accordance with this Act.