On Dec. 27 last year, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) announced that compulsory military service would be extended from four months back to its earlier length of one year, starting from Jan. 1 next year and applying to men born after Dec. 31, 2004. Following the announcement, the Ministry of Education drew up a proposal of flexible military service for undergraduate students, which is generally known as the “three plus one” plan.
However, no matter how hard the ministry tries to clarify the purpose of this plan, people still seem to think that it would allow draftees to take shortcuts to attain all their college credits within three years and complete their military service in one year. Many people think that this would interfere with the normal progress of students’ courses and internships, and that it might even lower the quality of teaching.
I originally had the same impression, but after attending an online explanatory meeting organized by the ministry on Tuesday last week, I realized that its main purpose with the “three plus one” proposal is that draftees born from 2005 would not have to delay their life plans because of military service. The plan is structured on the basis of existing arrangements whereby students with excellent academic performance can graduate earlier.
All colleges and universities have regulations or procedures whereby students who have excellent grades can graduate early by between one semester and one academic year.
The difference is that draftees born in 2005 and thereafter who take part in the “three plus one” plan can complete their studies in three academic years (or six semesters) without the requirement to achieve excellent grades.
They can do that by working hard to complete their credits during summer vacations and passing the thresholds for graduation set by their university and department. They must then do their military service by joining up through a special intake.
In this way, they can graduate in four years, just like their fellow female students, and then proceed to the work life or postgraduate studies without being delayed for an additional year.
Some people might think that draftee students cannot be compared with those who achieve excellent grades.
However, they still need to receive passing grades from their teachers, and although their grades might not be that high, they must still be good enough to obtain academic credits.
Besides, achieving the requirements for graduation within three years would be a just reward for rigorous study while sacrificing winter and summer vacations, not doing part-time jobs and not enjoying themselves as much as they otherwise could.
Moreover, teachers are not to be flexible with their grading standards just because these students are attending elective courses.
The Ministry of Education is opening a door and providing an opportunity to choose, and universities and colleges are also cooperating by offering summer vacation courses, all in the hope that male draftees born in 2005 onward would not feel depressed about having to do a full year’s military service. As long as they are willing to make the effort, they can graduate at the same time as their female counterparts by using the “three plus one” plan to complete their university studies and military service. In this way, they can launch their careers from the same starting line as their female peers and others who are exempt from the draft.
Chen Hung-hui is a counselor.
Translated by Julian Clegg
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