Minister of Education Wu-Ching-chi (吳清基) yesterday denied speculation that five local private universities would be forced to close in 12 or 13 years as a result of the nation’s declining birthrate.
Wu said the rumor — allegedly started by Kainan University president Kao An-pang (高安邦) — that Kainan University, Chinese Culture University, Providence University, Feng Chia University and Shih Chien University would no longer exist in 12 or 13 years was unfounded.
“These universities have shown very good performance in teaching. Plus, the ministry has encouraged local universities to recruit international students. Whatever it is that worries Kao will not happen,” Wu said.
Kao came under the media spotlight after a video clip on YouTube showed him making the remark during a conference at Kainan last year, prompting some users on academic online bulletin board system Professional Technology Temple to call the remark “nonsense.”
Kao yesterday said the objective of his comment was to help students understand current trends in education and the need to merge some academic departments amid a declining birthrate.
As many as 172 universities are said to be bracing for a crisis as a result of the record low birthrate.
Statistics from the Ministry of the Interior show there were 166,866 births last year, a drop of 24,424 from 2009.
Wu said the ministry had been planning an exit mechanism for private universities by pushing mergers between different schools, as well as encouraging schools to bring in Chinese students, overseas Taiwanese compatriots and foreign students to fill the classrooms.
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