The legislature yesterday passed amendments to the Senior High School Education Act (高級中等教育法) to overhaul the review process for the curriculum guidelines, which sparked protests against lack of transparency last year.
The amendments mandate that to improve accountability, the curriculum guidelines evaluation committee should be at the level of the Executive Yuan and its membership must include both governmental and nongovernmental representatives, including students’ representatives, who were not allowed a say previously.
Committee members affiliated with the government cannot exceed one-quarter of the total membership and nongovernmental committee members are to be selected through a process similar to that of the Taiwan Public Television Service Foundation’s board of directors.
Photo: Huang Yao-cheng, Taipei Times
The amended law authorizes education-related institutions, schools, legal personnel and groups to submit proposals for curriculum changes, in addition to permanently established governmental organizations dedicated to curriculum research and development.
Curriculum guideline research, development, evaluation and implementation must respect the guiding principles of ethnic pluralism, gender equality, transparency and political non-partisanship with regard to political parties, the amendment says.
In response to public criticism of the composition of curriculum guideline evaluation committees, the amended act is to limit government representatives in the curriculum guidelines committee to no more than one-quarter of its total of between 41 and 49 members.
Government representatives on the committee are to be nominated by the Ministry of Education from central and local government personnel and approved by the premier, the amendment says.
Nongovernmental committee members are to be nominated by the Executive Yuan and are to be accredited educational professionals, and are to include experts, academics, school principals, teachers and other education-related nongovernmental organizations, in addition to parents and students.
Nominations must be submitted to a panel appointed by the legislature for approval, the amendment says.
The panel will comprise of between 11 and 15 legislature-appointed objective and nongovernmental individuals, and is to approve the Executive Yuan’s nominee list (of the nongovernmental committee members) by a majority vote, it says.
A curriculum guideline evaluation committee member has a term of four years, with the possibility of serving consecutive terms, and each gender cannot have less representation than one-third of the committee.
Aborigines must be present in both the governmental and nongovernmental committee membership bodies, the amendment says.
To improve democracy on campus, the amendment also requires the presence of democratically elected student representatives or student association representatives on senior high school disciplinary committees.
Premier Simon Chang (張善政) responded to the amendment’s passage yesterday by saying that, while he understands that legislators want to emphasize the importance of the curriculum issue by elevating the evaluation committee to Executive Yuan level, he believes that “governmental responsibilities must be principally discharged by the relevant government agency.”
Chang said that he is concerned about the “available manpower” at the Executive Yuan and he would suggest that premier-designate Lin Chuan (林全) “reconsider” the passage of the amendment.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
AMENDMENT: Climate change is expected to increase the frequency of high-temperature days, affecting economic productivity and public health, experts said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) is considering amending the Meteorological Act (氣象法) to classify “high temperatures” as “hazardous weather,” providing a legal basis for work or school closures due to extreme heat. CWA Administrator Lu Kuo-chen (呂國臣) yesterday said the agency plans to submit the proposed amendments to the Executive Yuan for review in the fourth quarter this year. The CWA has been monitoring high-temperature trends for an extended period, and the agency contributes scientific data to the recently established High Temperature Response Alliance led by the Ministry of Environment, Lu said. The data include temperature, humidity, radiation intensity and ambient wind,
SECOND SPEECH: All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist the CCP, despite their differences, the president said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday discussed how pro-Taiwan and pro-Republic of China (ROC) groups can agree to maintain solidarity on the issue of protecting Taiwan and resisting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The talk, delivered last night at Taoyuan’s Hakka Youth Association, was the second in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. Citing Taiwanese democracy pioneer Chiang Wei-shui’s (蔣渭水) slogan that solidarity brings strength, Lai said it was a call for political parties to find consensus amid disagreements on behalf of bettering the nation. All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist