Universities’ efforts to recruit foreign students outside established programs would be scrutinized more closely, the Ministry of Education said yesterday, after Ugandan students accused Chung Chou University of Science and Technology of using them as laborers.
The ministry said it on Jan. 10 received a complaint from students saying that the university did not live up to what it had promised when recruiting them and instead exploited them as laborers.
Police on Friday last week questioned the university’s Department of Education Promotion director, surnamed Lan (藍), and its vice president, surnamed Chai (柴), the ministry said.
Photo: Rachel Lin, Taipei Times
Chai and Lan were suspected of breaching the Human Trafficking Prevention Act (人口販運防制法), the Employment Service Act (就業服務法) and the Criminal Code, it said.
The Changhua District Court approved prosecutors’ request to detain Lan, but released Chai on NT$300,000 bail.
The ministry yesterday told the Central News Agency that the university is suspected of breaching the University Act (大學法) and the Regulations Regarding International Students Undertaking Studies in Taiwan (外國學生來台就學辦法), and is barred from taking in any more foreign students.
The school is to conduct an internal investigation, the ministry said, adding that university president Huang Ssu-lun (黃思倫) has tendered his resignation.
Separately, the ministry said it would in March start a general review of the quality of education Taiwanese universities offer to foreign students.
Should any universities fail the review, they would be taken in by four designated schools, one each in the north, south, east and west of the nation, it said.
Deputy Minister of Education Lio Mon-chi (劉孟奇) said that the ministry would arrange unannounced inspections, focusing on irregularity with scheduling, course arrangements, the language courses are taught in and other aspects.
The ministry has a list of 20 universities considered at high risk of exploiting its students, Lio said, adding that the review would also include 158 vocational colleges.
Association of Private Universities and Colleges of Technology president Ko Tzu-hsiang (葛自祥) expressed understanding for the ministry’s concerns, saying that a unified standard should be adopted at all universities and vocational schools.
Private Education Association chairman Tang Yen-po (唐彥博) said that the ministry should announce inspections at least one day in advance, adding that the ministry should also draw up new laws regulating the sector.
Snow fell in the mountainous areas of northern, central and eastern Taiwan in the early hours of yesterday, as cold air currents moved south. In the northern municipality of Taoyuan, snow started falling at about 6am in Fusing District (復興), district head Su Tso-hsi (蘇佐璽) said. By 10am, Lalashan National Forest Recreation Area, as well as Hualing (華陵), Sanguang (三光) and Gaoyi (高義) boroughs had seen snowfall, Su said. In central Taiwan, Shei-Pa National Park in Miaoli County and Hehuanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Nantou County saw snowfall of 5cm and 6cm respectively, by 10am, staff at the parks said. It began snowing
Global bodies should stop excluding Taiwan for political reasons, President William Lai (賴清德) told Pope Francis in a letter, adding that he agrees war has no winners. The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to retain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and Taipei has watched with concern efforts by Beijing and the Holy See to improve ties. In October, the Vatican and China extended an accord on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four years, pointing to a new level of trust between the two parties. Lai, writing to the pope in response to the pontiff’s message on Jan. 1’s
HOLIDAY EXERCISE: National forest recreation areas from north to south offer travelers a wide choice of sights to connect with nature and enjoy its benefits Hiking is a good way to improve one’s health, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said, as it released a list of national forest recreation areas that travelers can visit during the Lunar New Year holiday. Taking a green shower of phytoncides in the woods could boost one’s immunity system and metabolism, agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) cited a Japanese study as saying. For people visiting northern Taiwan, Lin recommended the Dongyanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Taoyuan’s Fusing District (復興). Once an important plantation in the north, Dongyanshan (東眼山) has a number of historic monuments, he said. The area is broadly covered by
A Vietnamese migrant worker on Thursday won the NT$12 million (US$383,590) jackpot on a scratch-off lottery ticket she bought from a lottery shop in Changhua County’s Puyan Township (埔鹽), Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The lottery winner, who is in her 30s and married, said she would continue to work in Taiwan and send her winnings to her family in Vietnam to improve their life. More Taiwanese and migrant workers have flocked to the lottery shop on Sec 2 of Jhangshuei Road (彰水路) to share in the luck. The shop owner, surnamed Chen (陳), said that his shop has been open for just
RSS