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Foundation poll on education sparks accusations of bias

The Ministry of Education and a civic foundation were at odds yesterday after the foundation released a survey showing that 80 percent of people were unhappy with the education system.

After the ministry accused the foundation of bias and having a political agenda, the foundation responded by saying that the ministry should learn to face the truth and heed criticism before the situation further deteriorates.

Millennium Cultural and Education Foundation executive director Pan Li-hua (潘莉華) said she was not surprised by the ministry's response and insisted the survey reflected popular sentiment.

"We are merely representing what the people are feeling. We have been getting calls from people all day, thanking us for speaking up for them. People have eyes. They can clearly see when the education minister is nothing but a big joke," Pan said, in seeming reference to Minister of Education Tu Cheng-sheng's (杜正勝) recent "nose-picking" incident that was caught on camera.

Pan said that if the nation's highest educator was a habitual liar, one could hardly expect students to grow up to be upright citizens.

But ministry superintendent Chuang Kuo-jung (莊國榮) said the education system had made great advances in the past seven years, adding that the survey did not truthfully reflect popular sentiment.

"Public opinion polls must be carefully constructed and without any preconceived ideas. If the foundation stands by its survey, then why will it not make the questionnaires available for public scrutiny?" Chuang said.

He said that in recent years, the ministry has actively improved the infrastructure and content of the nation's education system. The ministry oversaw the construction of several school dormitories and launched programs to improve learning environments.

Pan said the details of the survey would be fully disclosed on Tuesday.
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