An official of National Chung Hsing University yesterday said that the university would not take action to solve the controversy surrounding the school president's academic credibility without instructions from the Ministry of Education.
"The education ministry should shoulder the responsibility to solve the ongoing dispute," said Lu Hsun (
Lu was referring to a dispute rekindled last week when the National Science Council ruled that an article published in an academic journal written by the university's president, Peng Tso-kwei (彭作奎), had been plagiarized.
The council had awarded Peng NT$170,000 in research funding in 1991 after publication of the article.
Under the University Law (
"Last September, we suggested three candidates for the ministry to choose from, and we included documents relating to Peng's controversial academic reputation. In spite of the public criticism, the ministry still picked Peng to serve as president," Lu said. "Now that this trouble has occurred, how can we assume the responsibility? The education ministry has overestimated our powers."
Lu's remarks were made in response to education officials' comments that the ministry would handle the issue according to the "school's reaction."
"We sent an official letter on Jan. 4 to National Chung Hsing University, saying that the ministry had reached the conclusion that two of Peng's academic pieces had been found to have been plagiarized," said Chen Ko-yun (
When pressed by the media, Minister of Education Ovid Tzeng (
In response, president of the school's Professors' Association, Wu Ming-ming (吳明敏), lashed out at the ministry's "cowardly attitude," saying that the ministry should take full responsibility for the matter.
"The issue has to be solved by the education ministry because public universities are supervised by the education ministry, and it was the ministry who selected this president despite our strong protests," Wu said.
"Now that Peng has finally been found guilty of plagiarism, the ministry should show its mettle by providing a clear-cut solution. But the ministry simply does not want to be the villain."
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