The Ministry of Education on Thursday said colleges and universities would most likely be allowed to raise tuition as early as July.
The announcement was met with anger by students and activists yesterday who said the timing of the hike is especially unfair to freshmen.
Minister of Education Cheng Jei-cheng (鄭瑞城) on Thursday announced the Ministry of Education (MOE) is drafting a resolution to permit higher learning institutes to raise tuition. The draft will be ready to be reviewed in the legislature by the middle of next month to meet the July deadline, he said.
Cheng hailed the hike as “long overdue and necessary” to keep Taiwan’s colleges and universities competitive.
The proposed hike was applauded by several university presidents including National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) head Michael Lai (賴明詔), who pointed out that college tuition in the US costs at least 10 times more than in Taiwan.
“Our tuition fees barely cover costs,” he said, stressing that it is important to let the public understand that Taiwan’s college fees are already on the low side compared to those in other countries.
Tuition for NCKU, National Yangming University and National Chengchi University are expected to rise by 5 percent.
National Taiwan University plans to adjust tuition based on individual departments instead of a comprehensive school-wide hike.
Private schools might also hike tuition by as much as 6 percent to 8 percent, reports said.
Anti-High Tuition Alliance spokeswoman Chien Shu-hui (簡淑慧) lambasted the timing of the hike, saying “most of the incoming students have already picked a school by July, which means the students will not have a clear idea of their tuition cost until too late.”
The National Alliance of Parents urged the government to increase tuition subsidies to offset the hike in order to level the playing field for students from low-income families.
Mandy Shih (施燕萍), a sophomore at National Taiwan Normal University said she would support the hike if it means higher earning power upon graduation.
“I view tuition as an investment. It will be awfully frustrating if I don’t get any profitable returns after paying so much,” she said.
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