From September, Taiwanese men born after Dec. 31, 2004, would be able to finish college and their compulsory military service within four years, the Ministry of Education said on Friday.
The government last year announced that compulsory military service would be extended from four months to one year from next year and instructed the ministry to investigate how to implement a “flexible” tertiary education system for draftees that would not disadvantage them when they enter the workforce.
The ministry on Wednesday issued a directive to universities and colleges, instructing them to adopt the policy before the new semester starts in September to allow draftees to take advantage of a “special conscription channel.”
Photo: Carlos Garcia Rawlins, Reuters
As part of the new policy, draftees would file requests with local authorities in February or September to undergo a physical checkup for conscription and participate in the draw that determines the type of military service they would enter when their conscription period begins in the following summer or winter break.
Eligible draftees would suspend their studies at least one month before the end of the semester, obtain documentation showing their studies have been paused from their institution and submit it to their local military office to ensure they receive a conscription notice at least 10 days before they are scheduled to start boot camp.
To ensure that those who use the flexible program are able to graduate alongside those who do not have to serve, colleges are required to raise the limit on the number of credits draftees can earn per semester and would not be allowed to charge extra tuition for the additional credits, the ministry’s directive says.
Institutes should also offer summer courses and allow draftees to take classes at other colleges, the directive says.
The new policy only applies to draftees, not those who plan to serve in the military voluntarily, the ministry said.
As the first batch of draftees eligible for the flexible program is yet to enter college, plans for students studying for a master’s or doctoral degree have not yet been formulated, the ministry said.
More details would be confirmed in an announcement by the Ministry of the Interior, the ministry added.
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