Thirteen private high schools and vocational high schools on the Ministry of Education’s “Extraordinary Assistance List” could close next year if they fail to resolve their troubled operations, affecting about 2,503 students and 331 staff.
The schools have until May next year to improve operations or be forced to close before Aug. 1 that year, K-12 Education Administration manager Huang Ching-yi (黃黃儀) said.
Long Der Commercial and Household Vocational High School dean Hsu Yung-fang (徐詠芳) said it is the only vocational school south of the Jhonggang River (中港溪) in Miaoli County, adding that it has been seeking to establish courses for immigrants and has already filed to be removed from the list.
Photo: Rachel Lin, Taipei Times
Hung Jen Catholic Girls’ High School dean Hsu Yao-wen (許耀文) said the board of the Chiayi County school had approved an injection of NT$80 million (US$2.5 million).
It has shifted toward a focus on robotics in the past few years, Hsu said, adding that after the K-12 Educational Administration’s second visit next month, it would remove the school from the list.
Kung Tung St Joseph Technical Senior High School dean Lee Jung-kung (李榮恭) said the Taitung County school had been placed on the list due to a financial setback.
Lee said he was confident the school would overcome the financial issue as it is in the process of liquidating real-estate assets.
Former K-12 Education Administration director Wu Ching-shan (吳清山) yesterday said the effects of a declining birthrate are spreading from universities to high schools, adding that this was an urgent matter that president-elect William Lai (賴清德) must address after taking office in May.
While the issue poses a challenge, it is also an opportunity to fine-tune the nation’s education policies and launch a comprehensive reassessment of schools and local needs, Wu said.
He said that special subsidies could help local government keep one to three private vocational schools to help students in their communities.
National Federation of Teachers’ Unions president Hou Chun-liang (侯俊良) said the school closures show that education policies, such as allowing the establishment of multiple high schools and colleges in an area, require review.
Action Alliance on Basic Education chairman Wang Han-yang (王瀚陽) urged Lai to review the number of schools in the nation and assess local needs, adding that the government should not sit by and watch as private schools close.
Government intervention is necessary if the closure of schools would affect students and require them to commute to continue their studies, National Parent Education Volunteer Association president Hsu Chu-lung (徐巨龍) said.
Additional reporting by Peng Chien-li, Wang Shan-yen, and Huang Ming-tang
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
POOR IMPLEMENTATION: Teachers welcomed the suspension, saying that the scheme disrupted school schedules, quality of learning and the milk market A policy to offer free milk to all school-age children nationwide is to be suspended next year due to multiple problems arising from implementation of the policy, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday. The policy was designed to increase the calcium intake of school-age children in Taiwan by drinking milk, as more than 80 percent drink less than 240ml per day. The recommended amount is 480ml. It was also implemented to help Taiwanese dairy farmers counter competition from fresh milk produced in New Zealand, which is to be imported to Taiwan tariff-free next year when the Agreement Between New Zealand and
‘NEW NORMAL’: A Japanese official said the drills show that the PLA can carry out large maneuvers without announcement, ‘leaving all of us struggling to respond’ Beijing’s recent naval exercises have left Taiwan and the US “struggling” for a response as the two nations drew different conclusions about the implications of the Chinese military drills, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Sunday. Taiwan has been bracing for China to hold military drills to retaliate against President William Lai’s (賴清德) diplomatic visits abroad, the outlet said, referring to Lai’s Nov. 30 to Dec. 6 tour to Taiwan’s three South Pacific allies, which included stopovers in Hawaii and Guam. Beijing announced partial air traffic restrictions across seven time zones along its coast from Shanghai to Hong Kong over two days. Yet,
CONNECTED: A survey of students from third grade to university seniors showed that 80% had cellphones, spending on average 37.27 hours per week on them Line users in Taiwan made an average of 100 million voice or video calls each day this year, while “like/thumbs up” was the most frequently used emoji in reaction to a message on the service, the Tokyo-based operator of the messaging app said yesterday. The app’s ability to adjust the quality of video and voice calls helps contribute to its frequent use, LY Corp said in a statement. As of Nov. 30, Line users in Taiwan spent an average of about one hour per day on the app, often checking it in the morning for messages that might have come through overnight,
RSS