A drop in school enrollment caused by low birthrates led to the closure of 14 educational institutions in Taiwan this year, statistics released by the Ministry of Education showed.
The ministry said that the closed down institutions consisted of nine elementary schools, a junior-high school and four higher-learning schools.
Of the elementary schools, four were in Taoyuan, one in Kaohsiung, one in Nantou County and three in Pingtung County.
Photo: Yang Mien-chieh, Taipei Times
The ministry also cited the building of the Taoyuan Aerotropolis as another reason the four elementary schools in the city closed.
The only junior-high school to close its doors this year was a school in Penghu County.
Meanwhile, the four institutions of higher learning that shut down were Kaohsiung’s Tung Fang Design University, Changhua County’s MingDao University, Chiayi City’s Tatung Institute of Commerce and Technology, and Yunlin County’s TransWorld University.
The four schools ceased taking in new admissions last year, in accordance with the Act Governing the Closure of Private Educational Institutions at Senior Secondary or Higher Level (私立高級中等以上學校退場條例), the ministry said.
At the time of the schools’ enrollment suspension, the universities together employed 428 faculty and staff to service 673 students, it added.
Aside from I-Kuan Tao College in Kaohsiung, no higher-education school is at risk of closure from next year to 2026, the ministry said, adding that the college had applied to close by next year, but the request would still need to be deliberated before it is approved.
Eight high schools stopped accepting admissions this year, so they are likely to close in the a few years, the ministry said.
Data from the Ministry of the Interior in October showed that the nation’s population was 23,404,138 as of September, down 2,470 from August, the ninth consecutive month this year that the nation has reported a drop.
There were 11,792 births in September, or 3.7 births per day, up 149 from August, it said, adding that the monthly birthrate was 6.15 per 1,000 people.
The jurisdictions with the highest birthrates were Yunlin County at 14.62 per 1,000 people, Penghu County at 8.61 per 1,000 and Taoyuan at 7.74 per 1,000, the interior ministry said.
The jurisdictions with the lowest birthrates were Keelung at 3.17 per 1,000, New Taipei City at 3.95 per 1,000 and Chiayi City at 4.13 per 1,000, it added.
There were 97,733 births from January to last month, down from 99,652 in the same period last year, showing that the Year of the Dragon this year has not sparked a baby boom as it has previously, the ministry said.
There were 15,563 deaths in September, or a mortality rate of 8.11 per 1,000 people, it added.
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