The National Teachers' Association (NTA 全國教師會) yesterday called on the incoming administration of President-elect Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) to keep his campaign promise and improve the method for selecting senior high school principals.
Senior high school principals -- who were appointed directly by the government in the past -- are required to go through a selection process before they are appointed, following a revision to the Senior High School Law in July 1999.
The Ministry of Education is still working on the selection rules and has decided, in principle, that a single committee should be set up to select new heads for all schools where there are vacancies.
The NTA, however, has expressed strong opposition to the ministry's idea.
It has advocated setting up a selection committee for each school where a position falls vacant, an idea that got Chen's backing in the run-up to the presidential election.
Because of the likely Cabinet reshuffle after Chen's inauguration on May 20, the education ministry has held back on a final decision and will wait until the new administration is in place.
"This is the very first check on educational reform that the new government should cash," said Chang Chien-huang (
Chang said the open selection of school principals has been one of the key concepts for reform of the educational system.
Chang criticized the Ministry of Education's proposal as being of no help to the reform, because it denies the participation of teachers and parents and ignores the specific needs of individual schools.
"Each school has its own understanding as to what kind of principal it needs. Why don't we let their voices be heard?" Chang asked.
Under the NTA's proposal, each school with a vacancy would set up a committee consisting of teacher and parent representatives, as well as government officials, to select a principal who best meets the needs of the school.
"The principal is responsible for the realization of the school's educational philosophy," Chang said.
Responding to the NTA's appeal, DPP legislator Fan Sun-lu (
"We definitely won't rule out the possibility of accepting the NTA's proposal, but we believe an evaluation and review process is still needed," said Fan, a senior member of the legislature's Education Committee.
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
A US uncrewed surface vessel (USV) encountered multiple Chinese warships during an autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, US defense company Seasats said in a statement on Wednesday. Seasats announced that a Lightfish USV had completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. Over five days, the USV traversed the entire length of the Strait while constantly monitoring surface vessel traffic, the company said. The Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships, one of which was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 056 corvette, it said. The Chinese vessels were operating “well within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the
‘BOOMING’: ’ The number of partners we have here is incredible. You can see from their stock prices. They’re doing so well, they’re so happy,’ Jensen Huang said Nvidia Corp’s spending in Taiwan has ballooned to about US$150 billion a year, 10 times the US$10 billion to US$15 billion the company spent five years ago, Nvidia chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said yesterday, suggesting Taiwan’s strategic importance in the global artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain. “Taiwan is the epicenter of the AI revolution. This is where the chips come, packaging comes. This is where the systems are made. This is where AI supercomputers were created,” Huang said at a meeting for the company’s employees in Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei, the planned site of Nvidia’s Taipei headquarters. “Taiwan
GREATER REACH? Auto parts and wood products would face tariffs of up to 15%, matching those targeting the EU, Japan and South Korea, Vice Premier said The US has announced that preferential tariff treatment for Taiwan’s non-semiconductor Section 232 goods would take effect retroactively from May 1, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The US government yesterday posted a notice on the Federal Register’s public inspection Web site previewing tariff concessions for Taiwan under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Taiwan-US investment after two months of negotiations. The MOU signed on Jan. 15 stipulated three major preferential tariff arrangements: a 15 percent “reciprocal” tariff rate for Taiwan without stacking most-favored nation (MFN) rates; preferential Section 232 treatment for semiconductors and related products; and preferential Section 232 treatment for non-semiconductor
RSS