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.
CREDIT-GRABBER: China said its coast guard rescued the crew of a fishing vessel that caught fire, who were actually rescued by a nearby Taiwanese boat and the CGA Maritime search and rescue operations do not have borders, and China should not use a shipwreck to infringe upon Taiwanese sovereignty, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The coast guard made the statement in response to the China Coast Guard (CCG) saying it saved a Taiwanese fishing boat. The Chuan Yu No. 6 (全漁6號), a fishing vessel registered in Keelung, on Thursday caught fire and sank in waters northeast of Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台). The vessel left Keelung’s Badouzih Fishing Harbor (八斗子漁港) at 3:35pm on Sunday last week, with seven people on board — a 62-year-old Taiwanese captain surnamed Chang (張) and six
RISKY BUSINESS: The ‘incentives’ include initiatives that get suspended for no reason, creating uncertainty and resulting in considerable losses for Taiwanese, the MAC said China’s “incentives” failed to sway sentiment in Taiwan, as willingness to work in China hit a record low of 1.6 percent, a Ministry of Labor survey showed. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) also reported that the number of Taiwanese workers in China has nearly halved from a peak of 430,000 in 2012 to an estimated 231,000 in 2024. That marked a new low in the proportion of Taiwanese going abroad to work. The ministry’s annual survey on “Labor Life and Employment Status” includes questions respondents’ willingness to seek employment overseas. Willingness to work in China has steadily declined from
LEVERAGE: China did not ‘need to fire a shot’ to deny Taiwan airspace over Africa when it owns ‘half the continent’s debt,’ a US official said, calling it economic warfare The EU has raised concerns about overflight rights following the delay of President William Lai’s (賴清德) planned state visit to the Kingdom of Eswatini after three African nations denied overflight clearance for his charter at the last minute. Taiwanese allies Paraguay and Saint Kitts and Nevis, as well as several US lawmakers and the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) condemned China for allegedly pressuring the countries. Lai was scheduled to fly directly to Taiwan’s only African ally from yesterday to Sunday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession and his 58th birthday, but Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar suddenly revoked
The number of pet cats in Taiwan surpassed that of pet dogs for the first time last year, reaching 1,742,033, a 32.8 percent increase from 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday, citing a survey. By contrast, the number of pet dogs declined slightly by 1.2 percent over the same period to 1,462,528, the ministry said. Despite the shift, households with dogs still slightly outnumber those with cats by 1.2 percent. However, while the number of households with multiple dogs has remained relatively stable, households keeping more than two cats have increased, contributing to the overall rise in the feline population. The trend
RSS