President Ma Ying-jeou reiterated Monday his inaugural pledge that the country's education budget will increase by 0.2 percent of gross domestic product annually, even if the domestic economy is at a low ebb. Speaking at a function marking Confucius' birthday, which is also celebrated as Teachers' Day, Ma said he was determined not to allow spending on education to be constrained despite potentially large fiscal deficits caused by the recession and the aftermath of the recent Typhoon Morakot. 'Education should not be compromised by poverty, and children should not be affected by adversity,' Ma said. The president noted that one of the government's initiatives in improving Taiwan's educational environment would be to adopt measures to bring the salaries and pension benefits of teachers at private schools in line with those at public schools. He hopes that once the gap in teacher compensation is narrowed, private schools will be able to attract good teachers and provide students with educational opportunities that are on par with those at public schools. 