Minister of Education Chiang Wei-ling (蔣偉寧) yesterday said he was taking full responsibility for the public confusion over the recently held examinations for junior-high school students, but added that the important task at hand would be helping students pick a school rather than finger-pointing.
The ultimate goal of the Comprehensive Assessment Program, held last week across the country, is to implement standardized examinations and boost the number of examination-free slots for students to be admitted into schools.
The maximum score for the program is 90 points, with the “school preference section” taking up 30 points, general examination scores 30 points and extracurricular activities the remaining 30 points.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Based on the program, the general examination scores are mainly divided into three tiers (exceptional, normal and unsatisfactory), which are further divided into four ranking levels from “A++” to “C,” while the essay composition section has a separate ranking structure.
In the event of more students applying than the number of available slots at a particular school, priority is given to essay composition scores. Comparison using ranking levels is only used when there are still more students than the number of allotted slots after the initial process of comparison is completed.
However, parents and students from Keelung, Taipei and New Taipei City areas have complained about the heavy weight given to essay composition, which they say make it more difficult for students who have obtained good grades but average composition scores to be admitted to top schools.
They also demanded that the ministry explain reports that the Greater Kaohsiung area used comparison by ranking levels ahead of essay composition scores.
Taipei City Department of Education director Lin Yi-hua (林弈華) echoed the parents’ concerns, saying the ministry must give the public an explanation, as other townships and cities, including Hsinchu County, Miaoli County, Taitung County and the Greater Taichung-Nantou area, had adhered to the procedures outlined in the program.
Due to the public outcry, a Control Yuan committee said it might consider launching an investigation.
The essay composition scores becoming the crux of whether a student could enter one of the “star high schools” needs to be addressed by the Ministry of Education, the committee said.
Chiang said the central government would do its best to negotiate with the local governments and minimize problems for students, but now is not the time for finger-pointing.
“You have my word” that after the problems are dealt with, there will be a reckoning, Chiang said.
Meanwhile, education organizations called on the ministry to implement the spirit of the 12-year standard education program — to allow all students to attend school without taking examinations — and not to be hijacked by elitist parents and “star schools.”
The ministry should have learned its lesson and made adjustments where needed to exempt students from unnecessary examinations, said Gordon Hsieh (謝國清), chief executive of the National Alliance of Parents Organization’s 12-year compulsory education office.
Humanistic Education Foundation executive director Joanna Feng (馮喬蘭) said resources for high schools and vocational high schools must be equalized to increase educational opportunities for young people.
Ensuring a sufficient number of student admission slots for each area will ease parental anxiety and protect children’s right to education, Feng said.
Seven of the 17 NT$10 million (US$311,604) winning receipts from the November-December uniform invoice lottery remain unclaimed as of today, the Ministry of Finance said, urging winners to redeem their prizes by May 5. The reminder comes ahead of the release of the winning numbers for the January-February lottery tomorrow. Among the unclaimed receipts was one for a NT$173 phone bill in Keelung, while others were for a NT$5,913 purchase at Costco in Taipei's Neihu District (內湖), a NT$49 purchase at a FamilyMart in New Taipei City's Tamsui District (淡水), and a NT$500 purchase at a tea shop in New Taipei City's
Taiwanese officials were shown the first of 66 F-16V fighter jets purchased by Taiwan from the United States, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, adding the aircraft has completed an initial flight test and is expected to be delivered later this year. A delegation led by Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) visited Lockheed Martin’s F-16 C/D Block 70 (also known as F-16V) assembly line in South Carolina on March 16 to view the aircraft. The jet will undergo a final acceptance flight in the US before being delivered to Taiwan, the
The New Taipei Metro's Sanyin Line and the eastern extension of the Taipei Metro's Tamsui-Xinyi Line (Red Line) are scheduled to begin operations in June, the National Development Council said today. The Red Line, which terminates at Xiangshan Station, would be connected by the 1.4km extension to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, while the Sanyin Line would link New Taipei City's Tucheng and Yingge stations via Sanxia District (三峽). The council gave the updates at a council meeting reviewing progress on public construction projects for this year. Taiwan's annual public infrastructure budget would remain at NT$800 billion (US$25.08 billion), with NT$97.3
TALENT SCOUTING: The university is investing substantial funds in its future to bring in the kind of researchers that would keep the college internationally competitive National Taiwan University (NTU) plans to invest NT$2 billion (US$62.6 million) to launch two programs aimed at attracting and retaining top research talent, university president Chen Wen-chang (陳文章) said yesterday. The funding would support the “Palm Grove Scholars Project,” which targets academics aged 40 to 55. Up to 20 scholars would be selected, each receiving as much as NT$10 million annually, Chen said. The initiative is designed to attract leading researchers to Taiwan and strengthen NTU’s global competitiveness by fostering a more research-friendly environment and expanding international collaboration, he said. NTU is also introducing a “Hong Hu” chair grant, which would provide Palm
RSS