The Ministry of Education yesterday outlined plans to merge universities, as the number of students has been on the decline.
“Low fertility rates are an unavoidable reality,” Deputy Minister of Education Chen Der-hwa (陳德華) said.
The ministry estimates that student numbers will drop by a third by 2023 after years of low birth rates, putting tremendous pressure on universities and colleges as revenue drops.
Chen said the ministry would seek to cope with this reality by making “more effective” use of educational resources, while protecting the interests of teachers and students in the schools affected.
The ministry plans announced yesterday call for cutting college enrollment quotas by 40 percent by 2023, while encouraging school mergers.
If a university fails to fill 70 percent of its enrollment quota for two consecutive years, the quota will be automatically cut, Chen said.
Subsidies would be offered to give schools an incentive to cut their enrollment quotas, he said.
By encouraging public universities to voluntarily cut their enrollment, the ministry hopes to mitigate the pressure placed on less prestigious schools.
The ministry estimates that eight to 12 of the 51 public universities in the nation and 20 to 40 of the 101 private universities will be merged or closed by 2023.
While the ministry wants to encourage mergers of public universities, it would allow private closures to follow a natural course, only forcing closures in cases in which the universities are unable to meet ministry educational standards, Chen said.
As private schools generally have lower enrollment rates than public schools, they are expected to be hit the hardest by falling student numbers.
The ministry said that merging grade levels to be able to hold classes would be viewed as grounds for closure.
Southern universities are to bear a larger share of university closings, since they generally have lower enrollment rates, but the ministry would guarantee that there would be at least one public university in every county and municipality, Chen said.
Previously announced mergers include three technology universities in Kaohsiung, along with National Taiwan University and National Taipei University of Education.
The ministry also announced the establishment of an office to coordinate policy implementation.
The ministry said it would propose new legislation to the legislature this year in the hopes of providing a clear legal foundation for the transition.
Honor guards are to stop performing changing of the guard ceremonies around a statue of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) to avoid “worshiping authoritarianism,” the Ministry of Culture said yesterday. The fate of the bronze statue has long been the subject of fierce and polarizing debate in Taiwan, which has transformed from an autocracy under Chiang into one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies. The changing of the guard each hour at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei is a major tourist attraction, but starting from 9am on Monday, the ceremony is to be moved outdoors to Democracy Boulevard, outside the eponymous blue-and-white memorial
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) supports peaceful unification with China, and President William Lai (賴清德) is “a bit naive” for being a “practical worker for Taiwanese independence,” former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said in an interview published yesterday. Asked about whether the KMT is on the same page as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on the issue of Taiwanese independence or unification with China, Ma told the Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Daily that they are not. While the KMT supports peaceful unification and is against unification by force, the DPP opposes unification as such and
The government would cancel kendo practitioner Su Yu-cheng’s (蘇郁程) nationality if he is confirmed to have represented China in the World Kendo Championships in Milan, Italy, last week, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday. “We have consulted the Sports Administration and were told that athletes participating in the championships must have the nationality of the country that they represent. They must also present their passports as proof,” council spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a weekly news conference. “If Su indeed represented China in the championships, we suspect that he has obtained Chinese nationality.” The Act Governing Relations Between the People of the
FATAL ILLNESS: Untreated symptoms can rapidly worsen to complications such as high fever, seizures and loss of consciousness, and can be life-threatening, a doctor said Hospitals have been reporting dozens of people with heat-related illnesses every day over the past week, given continuous high daytime temperatures, so recognizing the early signs of heatstroke is crucial in preventing serious complications, a Taipei City Hospital emergency physician said. The Central Weather Administration yesterday issued a heat alert for 19 cities and counties across Taiwan, with temperatures in New Taipei City, Miaoli County and Pingtung County likely to exceed 38°C, and temperatures in 12 cities and counties likely to exceed 36°C for three days straight. More than a dozen people were taken to hospitals for heat-related illnesses every day from