In a bid to prevent possible corruption at private universities, the Ministry of Education on Wednesday passed a draft amendment to the Organization Act of the Ministry of Education (教育部組織法), that would bar officials from assuming posts as presidents, vice presidents, directors or supervisors at such schools within three years of their retirement.
If passed by the legislature, the rule would apply to those holding the posts of minister or deputy minister of education, secretary-general of the ministry and director of the Department of Higher Education.
These officials have actual influence over higher education, as they are entitled to formulate policies and allocate resources, Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) said, adding that the amendment was proposed at the request of education groups and legislators.
Whenever officials who had served in these roles took up jobs at private universities, critics complained that the former public servants were acting as “guardians” in their new roles and helping schools avoid the ministry’s supervision, Pan said.
Ex-officials who secure jobs as directors or supervisors at private schools are often described as “fat cats” because they still receive their government pensions while earning a private salary, Pan said.
“These accusations are a very harsh criticism of the ministry and myself,” Pan said.
The amendment would be sent to the Executive Yuan for approval and then the legislature for a final review, he said.
The amendment would be based on the principle of legitimate expectations, meaning that former officials who have already taken up posts at private institutions would not be affected, the ministry said.
There are 10 former senior ministry officials who now hold jobs at private universities, including former minister Yang Chao-hsiang (楊朝祥), who is president of Fo Guang University; former deputy minister Lin Tsung-ming (林聰明), president of Nanhua University; former deputy minister Chen Yi-hsing (陳益興), president of TransWorld University; and former deputy minister Chou Tsan-te (周燦德), the president of Hsing Wu University.
The Executive Yuan late last month passed a draft amendment to the Retirement of School Faculty and Staff Act (學校教職員退休條例), which seeks to bar retired public-school employees who are later hired by government-funded institutions from receiving their pensions while working.
The bill is pending a final review by the legislature.
The National Federation of Teachers’ Unions has criticized that bill for not including retired school employees who land jobs at private institutions on the list of personnel who would be barred from double-dipping.
As of August last year, 1,667 retired public servants, public-school employees and military personnel were working at private universities, ministry statistics showed.
The legislature’s Budget Center panned retirees who have adopted this practice, saying that they are basically receiving two salaries, which violates the principle of social justice.
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