Although it's been 10 years since educational reform was implemented, a correction order issued by the Control Yuan yesterday found that the quality of Taiwan's higher education had reverted to the level of 15 years ago.
The Control Yuan's education committee yesterday announced an investigation report to correct the Ministry of Education (MOE) for the deteriorating quality of higher education over the past decade, pointing out that educational resources available to each university student had reverted to the level of 15 years ago as the budgets for higher education recorded a negative growth since 1994.
"The MOE failed to increase the budget for higher education in line with the rapid growth of college students, which led to a situation in which educational resources were seriously watered down," Control Yuan investigator Chao Jung-yao (
According to statistics cited by Chao, in 1993 about 690,000 students were enrolled in 125 universities and colleges, and that by 2003, the number of universities and colleges had increased to 167, with the number of students expanding 84 percent.
Meanwhile, the ratio of students to professors was 14 to 1 in 1993, with the figure rising to 20 to 1 in 2003.
The higher ratio directly impacted students' educational rights, Chao said.
Each student was allotted only about NT$160,000 of educational resources in 2001, which was the level of 1989. The allotment peaked in 1996, with each student having NT$210,000 to use.
"It is a worrying situation that students have fewer educational resources to use even though they passed the college entrance examination," Chao said.
Additionally, Chao said, the number of people with bachelors degrees has increased by 192 percent, the number of people graduating with masters degrees has increased 333 percent and people with doctoral degrees rose by 180 percent over the past 10 years.
Although the Ministry of Education has proposed a "bow out mechanism" to phase out those schools that are less competitive and encourage schools to merge, the formula for the mechanism is not clear and the result has been poor so far, Choa said.
Chao added that the MOE had also failed to revise related education laws and conduct reforms in the administrative system, which should be corrected by the Control Yuan.
Meanwhile, the Executive Yuan also faced a correction order from the Control Yuan for a rise in the adult illiteracy rate.
Three percent of all people over the age of 15 in Taiwan are illiterate, according to another investigation report announced by the Control Yuan yesterday.
The report said that governments at all levels have not paid enough attention to the issue. As well, they have not allocated enough resources for lifelong learning with the result that around 548,000, or 3 percent, of those over 15 were illiterate in 2003, lagging far behind the 2 percent rate seen in industrialized countries.
Outlying islands and agricultural counties have the highest illiteracy rates. The rate in Lienchiang is 7.75 percent and Kinmen sits at 7.4 percent. In agricultural areas such as Yunlin County it is 6.6 percent, both Changhua and Chiayi are at 6.12 percent, and Kaohsiung County has a 4.55 percent illiteracy rate.
For this reason, the Control Yuan censured the Executive Yuan for gross negligence.
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with
RSS