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LETTERS: Looking at education

With the nation looking forward to the imminent presidential election, we may start speculating about what new policies the future national leader can come up with to alleviate our long-lasting educational headache.

Taiwan is competing with emerging locations ideal for pursuing a university education and Chinese cultural absorption like Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and China. Thus, while marveling at the humanitarian and potential-exploring methodology in northern Europe, we should keep in mind the geopolitical differences between Taiwan and that Shangri-La for youth education. Instead of merely looking at the figures and charts provided by magazine publishers, we must explore the flaws in Taiwan's education system and create tailored solutions according to what students need to perform in an era of globalization.

Due to its East Asian location, Taiwan enjoys transportation advantages. However, it downplays its geographic and economic strength and confines itself when it comes to educational enhancement and academic exchange.

Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore possess cosmopolitan atmospheres which constitute engaging environments for students. China, with its expanding economy, is gearing up to assume a dominant role in the near future.

Meanwhile South Korea is solidifying its global market share and aggressively building "English villages" to create premium language centers in order to satisfy the domestic hunger for an international workforce.

Taiwan's freedom of speech, mature human rights record and outstanding economic growth have supported the preliminary stage for internationalized education. We need a consistent direction for educational reinforcement based not on malicious competition for votes among political parties but rather through steps like increasing and financing opportunities for students to study abroad, aid for educating minority groups and bridging academic gaps between Taiwan and other countries.

The Ministry of Education has adopted a policy in which colleges and graduate schools that do not pass a rigid accreditation process must cease enrollments. This helps to refine departmental quality and highlight the dichotomy between vocational and academic-oriented specialists.

In short, Taiwan should recognize its standing in the globalized world and enact more stable education policies based on the present patterns of the labor force.

Graduates in Taiwan are forced to compete for cruelly few opportunities or take low-paying jobs. Encouraging and assisting them to extend their job-hunting abroad would help alleviate the pressure of their student loans and help them gain practical work experience.

A pan-Chinese region is more than likely to occur in the future, and Taiwan's youth must be ready to compete and cooperate with people from Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Vietnam and certainly China.

Whoever becomes the next leader of Taiwan, this year will be crucial for the rehabilitation of the education system.

Edward Lin

Banciao, Taipei County
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