The Language Training and Testing Center said it would consider reviewing the prices of its General English Proficiency Test (GEPT) yesterday after respondents in a survey complained about the examination fees.
Liu Ching-jen (劉慶仁), director of the Ministry of Education’s Bureau of International Cultural and Educational Relations and a board member at the center, said he would propose a review since students were unhappy at the costs.
Liu made the remarks in response to criticism from the Consumers’ Foundation on Friday that accused the ministry-funded center of overcharging GEPT students.
Foundation secretary-general Wu Chia-cheng (吳家誠) said an Internet poll showed that about 70 percent of the 440 respondents believed the prices were unreasonable, while more than 90 percent said the second stage of the test was overpriced.
The costs of different levels of the test range from NT$460 to NT$2,300. The test has been adopted by some universities as a graduation requirement.
The test was funded by the ministry and designed and implemented by the center in 2000 to award test-takers with credentials for their different levels of English competence.
Wu claimed the center could lower prices of the tests as its annual financial reports over the past four years showed that it had revenues of between NT$60 million and NT$120 million before tax.
However, Liu Yu-hsia (劉玉霞), a section chief at the center, said GEPT registration fees were reasonable compared with similar proficiency tests, adding that the center had lowered prices by NT$20 and NT$50 on two separate occasions over the past decade.
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