National Taiwan University (NTU) yesterday said it would proceed with a proposed merger with the National Taipei University of Education (NTUE) if the proposal achieves majority support during a meeting in January next year.
NTU vice president Chang Ching-ray (張慶瑞) yesterday revealed the latest details on the proposed merger, which has been uncertain for more than 10 years.
The university would propose a letter of intent and put it to a vote by university officials and teachers during a meeting scheduled for Jan. 7 next year, Chang said.
If the proposal secures more than 50 percent of votes, the university would put together a task force to formulate a working plan, which is estimated to take three to five years, he added.
The proposed merger would be approved if it gains the backing of 60 percent of officials and faculty members at both schools in a final vote, he said.
Likening the proposed merger to a marriage, Chang said that it must proceed with mutual consent and in students’ best interests, adding that the two universities had made some of their courses available to students on both sides.
“I hope that it will take place spontaneously on a consensus that it would be mutually beneficial,” he said.
Chang said that he had been gathering the opinions of NTU faculties over the past year, during which the NTUE had been adjusting its staffing, adding that the merger seemed “feasible” judging by recent progress.
He said that the NTUE had agreed to NTU’s suggestion that it integrate its three colleges into a college of education and college of the arts.
The NTUE is about the size of the NTU College of Science, Chang said, adding that it is unlikely that the merger would have a significant impact on his university’s operations.
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