One semester after the implementation of a major educational reform, a magazine survey released yesterday showed that 70 percent of teachers and parents would like the government reinstate the Joint College Entrance Examination (JCEE).
The 48-year-old JCEE was replaced last July by the Diversified College Enrollment Scheme.
This survey, conducted by the Global Views Monthly between Dec. 3 and Jan. 3, polled 2,245 seventh-grade students at 70 schools nationwide, as well as 238 parents and 111 teachers.
Asked to teach a more diversified curriculum aimed at preparing students to enter high schools or universities, teachers were having trouble keeping up with the times. Ninety percent of the teachers surveyed admitted that they are having problems teaching the new material.
Students also seemed exasperated when faced with the new program. Nearly 60 percent of teachers reported that students have difficulties adapting to the de-standardized textbooks.
Sixty-three percent of the parents surveyed agreed with the statement: "The more I try to understand the educational reform, the more confused I get."
Although the new system is well-intentioned, students complained that the reforms failed to alleviate academic pressure, even though their fate no longer hinges solely on the JCEE. Fifty-four percent of seventh-grade respondents said that they have to go to cram schools.
Forty-six percent of the students surveyed who do not go to cram schools do not go because they can not afford the classes.
A seemingly contradictory result suggested that teachers support the reform. Seventy percent of teachers and parents who responded were in favor of restoring the JCEE. Nevertheless, 80 percent of teachers and 70 percent of parents replied that they still support the Ministry of Education's reform efforts.
The contradiction suggested that respondents had placed their hopes that the reform would make things better for soon-to-be graduates, but are unsatisfied with and worried about the mix-ups that have resulted during policy implementation.
Teachers said the major reason they have had difficulties in teaching the new materials were related to educational policy flip-flops, that have left them confused.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard