The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) yesterday announced the results of a public opinion poll on the 12-year national education program, in which 63 percent of respondents said the newly implemented system is a failure and 73 percent said parents are dissatisfied with the program.
The survey, commissioned by TSU to Focus Survey Research, was conducted among Taiwanese aged 20 or above, and collected 1,068 valid samples from all municipalities.
Among those polled, 12.6 percent said that the education program was a success, while 11.7 percent said parents are pleased with the current education policy.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
Out of the 73 percent of respondents who said parents and students are dissatisfied with the program, 39.3 percent responded that parents are “extremely dissatisfied.”
According to 57.2 percent of respondents, the basic competence test for junior-high school students should be restored, while 27.7 percent think the new system is feasible, but needs adjustments.
The program was officially implemented last month despite heavy criticism from academics and parents.
Citing the statistics, TSU Chairperson Huang Kun-hui (黃昆輝) accused President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration of forcibly implementing the policy and called for it to be halted immediately.
He urged the Ministry of Education to restore the basic competence test as a contingency method and halt the new program until improvements are made.
He said that Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) should not treat students as “guinea pigs.”
Huang said the program was an attempt to stifle prestigious public high schools and universities.
A sound education system should ensure mobility among social classes, which can be attained through public schools, he added.
The significance of public schools is that they are totally free from the influence of privilege — everyone has equal access to them no matter their background or income, he said.
Huang said that high-ranking public schools would be forced to transform into private institutes after the new program strips them of their tradition of excellence.
“In Taiwan, the majority of talented people graduate from public schools, and I think eliminating them would have an adverse effect on the nation’s development.” Huang added.
When asked whether they agree with TSU’s demand that vocational high schools be exempted from incidental expenses and the exam-free admission to spur enrollment, 69.3 percent of respondents said they agreed, the survey showed.
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