The Executive Yuan has proposed draft amendments to the Teachers’ Act (教師法) that would make it easier to deal with incompetent teachers. The proposal has drawn a strong backlash from teachers’ organizations, but more than 50 parents’ organizations signed a letter and held a news conference in support of the amendments.
Loosely organized parents’ groups do not carry as much weight in legislators’ eyes as the more united teachers’ organizations, so legislators have not responded enthusiastically to the parents’ demands. Consequently, the draft amendments might be shelved.
Many people think the main reason nothing gets done about incompetent teachers is that “teachers always stick up for one another,” and they do indeed feel under pressure to do so.
To overcome this problem, the draft amendments introduce a requirement that when a school’s teachers’ review committee handles the case of an incompetent teacher, extra committee members should be brought in from the outside, so that no more than half of the committee members are teachers who do not also have administrative duties.
If the draft amendments are passed, external critics would no longer have any reason to complain about how teachers’ review committees deal with incompetent teachers, or to go on accusing teachers of always shielding one another.
The idea that “teachers always stick up for one another” simply means that because of the camaraderie that exists between colleagues, including teachers, directors and principals, they do not have the heart to get each other into trouble.
This kind of mentality is common among ethnic Chinese people everywhere, but when it comes to education, children’s studies must be the top priority.
Whenever there is an incompetent teacher, children will suffer and so will their parents. Parents cannot and must not tolerate the presence of unfit teachers. Most teachers are parents themselves, so they surely feel the same.
By making it possible to effectively deal with incompetent teachers, the proposed amendments would not only relieve parents and children of their misery, but also give teachers a way out of their predicament.
The draft also states that a resolution to dismiss a teacher would only be valid if two-thirds of the committee members vote in favor. As well as setting a high threshold for dismissing incompetent teachers, this does the same for those found guilty of sexual harassment or abuse.
The Ministry of Education apparently overlooked this point when it was drafting the amendments, so legislators will have to correct this mistake.
Legislators are always more concerned about elections than anything else, so they might shelve the bill or be unwilling to deliberate it diligently, because parents’ groups are less united than teachers’ organizations.
In effect, this would uphold incompetent teachers’ right to work.
However, voters favor candidates who meet people’s expectations and stick to their original principles.
Legislators need to stop shielding unfit teachers. They should commence deliberation on the draft amendments as soon as possible.
Furthermore, they should scrutinize the bill meticulously and correct the ministry’s omission. This would ensure that sexually predatory teachers, as well as incompetent ones, are promptly removed from schools. When that happens, parents will have peace of mind and teachers can concentrate on teaching.
Hsieh Kuo-ching is president of the Taiwan Parents Education Association.
Translated by Julian Clegg
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