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Parents pressure education ministry

A member of an education-reform group, Chou Sheng-hsin (周聖心) said yesterday that if the 12-year compulsory education program cannot be implemented soon, generations of junior-high students will be forced to endure the pressure of taking senior high school exams unnecessarily.

"Our children cannot wait any longer," said Chou of the Post-410 Education Reform Forum on the last day of the National Conference on Educational Development organized by the Ministry of Education.

Chou is a lecturer at Yungho Community College and a mother who has a 13-year-old daughter in junior high school.

"We [parents] hope that the so-called consensus formed in the conference will not become an empty promise," said Chou, who lauded the conference as a good start to collect various opinions on how to jumpstart the problematic education reforms.

After two-days of eager debate and discussion during the conference, the nearly 400 participants reached a consensus that it is imperative to implement the 12-year compulsory education program and that the government has to work out detailed measures before trying to implement the program.

The seriousness with which the government views resuscitation of education reform has been highlighted by attendance of the highest-level officials. President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) gave the opening speech and Premier Yu Shyi-kun was also in attendance. Education Minister Huang Jong-tsun (黃榮村) confirmed at the conference that the program is a part of the overall reform vision and said that the government will not dive in without a concrete plan.

"The long-term goals of the 12-year compulsory education program are free tuition and free exams, which are difficult to reach in one step," Chen said. He made the remarks while visiting Pingtung County on Sunday. He also suggested a three-year plan to map out comprehensive measures during his trip.

"I am sure we can enjoy the accomplishment of the 12-year compulsory education program in my remaining years," Huang, who is 56 years old, said.

However, the chief representative of the Parents' Association Hsiao Hui-ying (蕭慧英) said that three years is too long for a feasibility study. "It would imply that our government is not very competent," Hsiao said. "The ministry was supposed to work out a complete report before next year's conference."

Although Hsiao was not satisfied with the number of conference invitations extended to the Parents' Association -- one -- she was surprised to see the diversity of opinions presented.

"I think it is the first time that so many opinions about education have been voiced in such a large and public place," she said, saying that it was an embodiment of democracy.

Lu Hsiu-chu (呂秀菊), president of the National Teachers' Association, suspected that the education conference was simply a huge "worship congregation," meaning that it served only to impart a false "peace of mind" about the troubled education reform.

Lu said that although almost everyone had a chance to speak, she worried that the knotty problems such as nine-year education program, had not been fully discussed.
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