Installing metal detectors at schools to deter concealment of dangerous items, such as switchblades, is impractical, Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) said yesterday during a ministry meeting on campus safety.
The comments were in response to the National Federation of Education Unions saying that safety measures are insufficient and put faculty tasked with searching students at risk.
The group has called for the installation of security checkpoints, and recommended that schools provide staff and faculty with metal detectors.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Pan turned down the suggestion yesterday, saying: “This is not the time.”
The proposal has been brought up before, but implementation is problematic, he said.
He said that many stationery items contain metal and would set off the detectors repeatedly, and having students line up at checkpoints when going to school would cause unnecessary complications.
Many representatives during the meeting are of the mindset that “now is not the time” to install metal detectors and security checkpoints, he said.
However, the ministry would launch a reassessment if schools and education groups continue to petition the matter, he added.
The National Federation of Teachers’ Unions yesterday issued a statement urging the ministry to consider increasing the number of security personnel for schools and discuss the necessity of adding a deputy division head under the Department of Student Affairs for junior-high schools nationwide.
Pan said a previous school security meeting on Jan. 4 had already resolved to increase school security and consultation faculty, with consultation personnel for junior-high schools expected to report for duty by next year.
Additional consultation personnel for elementary schools, originally planned to be completed by 2031, has been moved ahead and will be completed by 2027, Pan added.
The ministry is open to suggestions regarding increasing personnel, but such decisions would have to consider the size of the schools, their existing personnel payouts and additional collaboration with local governments, he said.
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