High school students yesterday asked to be allowed to take part in education reform initiatives being carried out by the government.
A forum held to discuss the issue with Minster of Education Huang Jung-tsun (
"I think we should spend time and energy on concrete things rather than on something nominal or meaningless," Huang said after the kerfuffle. "I sincerely hope to sit down and discuss education reform calmly with you. This is why I invited some department chiefs in the ministry to talk with you today."
The two associations, the High School Students Education Reform Association (
Student demands
They asked for the ban on long hair in schools to be lifted, for students to be given a genuine choice of optional courses and for a stable Diversified College Enrollment Scheme, which was created a year ago but will undergo an overhaul next year.
They asked the ministry to regard students as the principle part in education reform and to confer with students about reform policies.
"Students' voices have been neglected for a long time," said Winnie Wu (
"We are so powerless that we have to wait for the reformers to decide our future without asking us. The schools still hold absolute power to regulate students, including what to wear and what to study," Wu said
Several senior high school students and university students attended the forum to express their opinions and discontentment about the education system.
"The Chinese composition part of the Joint College Entrance Examination that asks students to write 800 to 1,000 words in half an hour is unreasonable," said Lai Chien-huan (
Punishments
One student said some teachers punished students in inhumane ways, such as making them do 1,000 push-ups, pulling students' hair and spanking them.
Another student wanted study of the "Three Principles of the People" dropped from the syllabus.
A student of National Taiwan University suggested designing a brochure that educates students about their rights and how to access channels of appeal when they encounter improper discipline.
"I read the petition thoroughly and I think some suggestions make sense. I promise that the ministry will take all your requests into consideration and put them into practice," Huang said. "But please allow some time for the ministry to come up with the details.
"The last thing I want is to leave society with the impression that education reform is in a mess," he said.
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