Court decides colleges cannot expel students

The court system is challenging rules that state students who fail to meet minimum scholastic requirements or behave badly can be expelled.

In ruling on appeals by two former college students, the Administrative High Court has determined that the colleges did not have the authority to oust students for their weak academic performance or improper behavior.

A large number of expelled students are expected to take their cases to court in an attempt to resume their studies.

"We hold that the internal guidelines of colleges and universities are not sufficient to deprive students of their right to an education. It is up to the legislature to decide in what circumstances a student can be expelled and to clearly specify the criteria in statutes," said Chang Chung-wen (張瓊文), a division chief of the Administrative High Court, at a press conference yesterday.

"And on the grounds that every individual is constitutionally guaranteed the right to an education, the court has declared the dismissal orders by the two colleges in question null and void," Chang said.

In Taiwan, most colleges and universities have rules that state students who fail half of their courses in a single semester will be expelled. Some colleges oust students who fail two-thirds of their courses.

In addition, colleges will expel students who they determine have behaved badly.

Huang Ping-cheng (黃彬誠) was kicked out of Shih Hsin University (世新大學). He filed an appeal with the Administrative High Court last year against a decision by the university to expel him on the grounds that he failed more than half of his courses.

In early July, the court overturned the dismissal by Shih Hsin University and ordered the school to allow Huang to resume his studies.

Lee Chih-hung (李志弘), a student at National Hualien Teachers College (花蓮師範學院), was expelled in April after he stole a motorcycle and set it on fire. Public electrical equipment nearby also caught fire.

The court again determined that National Hualien Teachers College did not have the authority to expel the student.

Currently, there are no statutes to specify the conditions for ousting a student so colleges expel students based on their own internal guidelines.

The court held that the right to an education is protected by the Constitution and that no one can infringe on that right unless a separate law is created.

However, Shih Hsin University insisted that they have the autonomy to decide which students to dismiss. They plan to appeal the case to the Administrative Supreme Court.

"I believe other schools will support us because the court's decision not only impacts Shih Hsin but the entire higher education system," said Huang-fu Ho-wang (皇甫河旺), dean of academic affairs at Shih Hsin University.

"The reality is that some students simply widdle away their days in college without the slightest dedication to learning. When a student has failed over half of their courses, it's apparent they're unable to adapt to the system. And the dismissal [system] just encourages the students to work hard," Huang-fu said.

While Shih Hsin University has vowed to fight the court's ruling, National Hualien Teachers College said yesterday that they still need to look into the matter before deciding whether to file an appeal.

The Ministry of Education said yesterday that the dismissal system is necessary in order to maintain high academic standards at the colleges. The ministry added that it will amend the University Law to comply with the court's ruling.