The Ministry of Education yesterday outlined plans to merge universities, as the number of students has been on the decline.
“Low fertility rates are an unavoidable reality,” Deputy Minister of Education Chen Der-hwa (陳德華) said.
The ministry estimates that student numbers will drop by a third by 2023 after years of low birth rates, putting tremendous pressure on universities and colleges as revenue drops.
Chen said the ministry would seek to cope with this reality by making “more effective” use of educational resources, while protecting the interests of teachers and students in the schools affected.
The ministry plans announced yesterday call for cutting college enrollment quotas by 40 percent by 2023, while encouraging school mergers.
If a university fails to fill 70 percent of its enrollment quota for two consecutive years, the quota will be automatically cut, Chen said.
Subsidies would be offered to give schools an incentive to cut their enrollment quotas, he said.
By encouraging public universities to voluntarily cut their enrollment, the ministry hopes to mitigate the pressure placed on less prestigious schools.
The ministry estimates that eight to 12 of the 51 public universities in the nation and 20 to 40 of the 101 private universities will be merged or closed by 2023.
While the ministry wants to encourage mergers of public universities, it would allow private closures to follow a natural course, only forcing closures in cases in which the universities are unable to meet ministry educational standards, Chen said.
As private schools generally have lower enrollment rates than public schools, they are expected to be hit the hardest by falling student numbers.
The ministry said that merging grade levels to be able to hold classes would be viewed as grounds for closure.
Southern universities are to bear a larger share of university closings, since they generally have lower enrollment rates, but the ministry would guarantee that there would be at least one public university in every county and municipality, Chen said.
Previously announced mergers include three technology universities in Kaohsiung, along with National Taiwan University and National Taipei University of Education.
The ministry also announced the establishment of an office to coordinate policy implementation.
The ministry said it would propose new legislation to the legislature this year in the hopes of providing a clear legal foundation for the transition.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
The Taipei MRT is to begin accepting mobile payment services in the fall, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said on Saturday. When the company finishes the installation of new payment units at ticketing gates in October, MRT passengers can use credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, the operator said. In addition, the MRT would also provide QR payment codes — which would be compatible with Line Pay, Jkopay, iPass Money, PXPay Plus, EasyWallet, iCash Pay, Taiwan Pay and Taishin Pay — to access the railway system. Currently, passengers can access the Taipei MRT by buying a single-journey token or using EasyCard,
RSS