The Ministry of Education yesterday said that it respected any decisions made by local governments on the controversial high-school admissions examination system.
The ministry reiterated the statement following similar remarks made by Minister of Education Wu Se-hwa (吳思華) on Sunday at a forum on the system, which is part of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) 12-year national education policy.
The system, which began in June, features a national examination aimed at determining students’ academic proficiency and a second, special entrance exam, along with what critics call complicated rules for students to select their preferred high schools.
Photo: CNA
It was criticized by parents after the first national exam, which created widespread confusion over the scoring system and the implications of different grades for the high schools their children could select.
The system has also been criticized by Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) and New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫), both Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) members.
Chu fired the first shots at the system on Thursday last week, announcing that his city would scrap the special entrance exam beginning next year in a significant departure from central government policy.
He criticized the much-maligned new system, describing it as erratic and crediting it with causing “great misery” for students and parents.
The system has left many frustrated due to confusing rules for students to select their preferred high schools. In the Greater Taipei area, criticisms also focused on the weight given to the essay portion of the June entrance exam.
If high-school applicants are not accepted by their first-choice schools after the test, they can take the special entrance exam that emphasizes certain subjects.
A third chance at selection allows students still unhappy with their options to draw up a new list of preferred schools based on the scores from the original entrance exam, but the entire process can take as long as two months.
Wu told Sunday’s forum that the admission process should be shorter to protect students and their parents from stress related to uncertainty about where students can apply and be enrolled.
At the event, the ministry presented several possible ways to improve the system, including a “one exam, two uses” proposal, which employs scores from one exam used as an enrollment gauge in various ways.
However, the proposal received differing definitions from education officials and some city and county administrators who attended the meeting.
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