Education groups yesterday expressed concern over new curriculum guidelines scheduled to take effect in August after deputy education ministers Yao Leeh-ter (姚立德) and Fan Sun-lu (范巽綠) resigned.
Yao served as acting education minister three times between April last year and earlier this month, following the resignation of former education ministers Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠), Wu Maw-kuen (吳茂昆) and Yeh Jiunn-rong (葉俊榮) — the first time anyone has been an acting education minister three times within nine months.
He is reportedly planning to return to teaching at National Taipei University of Technology.
Photo: Rachel Lin , Taipei Times
Fan served as deputy education minister for a little more than three months after taking office in September last year.
New Cabinet members are to be sworn in today and the ministry has planned a farewell party for Yao and Fan in the afternoon.
Yao was responsible for overseeing higher education and vocational schools, while Fan handled compulsory education.
Their departure would require others to take over their work at the ministry.
Among high-level officials, Deputy Minister of Education Lin Teng-chiao (林騰蛟) is the only one to have overseen compulsory education, as he has served as deputy commissioner of the Taipei’s Department of Education and as the commissioner of the New Taipei City Department of Education.
He has also served as the director of the ministry’s Department of Technological and Vocational Education.
Although K12 Education Administration Director-General Peng Fu-yuan (彭富源) has served as the commissioner of the Taichung Department of Education, he is less familiar with the new curriculum guidelines and was not appointed director-general until Dec. 24.
The National Academy for Educational Research, which manages affairs related to curriculum guidelines, has been without a formal president since July last year, with its vice president, Kung-Bin Kuo (郭工賓), doubling as its acting president.
“Compared with the other ministries, the Ministry of Education [MOE] is the least stable one, having had three ministers in one year,” National Parent Education Volunteer Association director-general Wu Fu-pin (吳褔濱) said.
The new curriculum guidelines are an important policy, yet there would be no senior official familiar with them to help the new minister with their implementation, he said, adding that the situation is “deeply worrying.”
To ensure a smooth transition for schools and students, Wu urged the government to abandon its practice of appointing officials from its inner circle and look for talent to fill in the positions left by Yao and Fan.
Separately, Shih Chien University president Michael Chen (陳振貴) on Saturday said the new education minister would face a series of challenges when implementing the new curriculum guidelines.
The ministry must also deal with the transformation of private universities and colleges, as a steep decline in enrollments is expected next year due to the nation’s dwindling birthrate, he added.
Legislation would be needed to provide the legal basis for schools undergoing transformation to prevent problems, Chen said.
The ministry must work on boosting universities’ global competitiveness, he said, adding that it should increase schools’ research funding to improve their ranking and help them train more talent.
Additional reporting by Wu Po-hsuan
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
Actor Lee Wei (李威) was released on bail on Monday after being named as a suspect in the death of a woman whose body was found in the meeting place of a Buddhist group in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) last year, prosecutors said. Lee, 44, was released on NT$300,000 (US$9,148) bail, while his wife, surnamed Chien (簡), was released on NT$150,000 bail after both were summoned to give statements regarding the woman’s death. The home of Lee, who has retreated from the entertainment business in the past few years, was also searched by prosecutors and police earlier on Monday. Lee was questioned three
RSS