Asia-Pacific Institute of Creativity (APIC) teachers and the Taiwan Higher Education Union yesterday urged the Ministry of Education to not shut down the school until its students graduate, following the resignation of its chairman and president in April.
Yi-shen Group gained control of the school’s assets totaling NT$1.6 billion (US$53.66 million at the current exchange rate) through a NT$1.5 million donation in August 2016, APIC teacher Huang Hui-chih (黃惠芝) said.
Soon after the takeover, the school’s new board, headed by Yi-shen Group chairman Huang Ping-chang (黃平璋), began terminating most of its programs, forcing students to transfer or drop out and illegally cutting teachers’ pay, she said.
In less than two years, enrollment has dropped from 3,000 students to 800, she added.
Since the school’s chairman and president resigned in April, it has suffered from a personnel shortage, Huang Hui-chih said, adding that the ceramic art program now has only one teacher with expertise in the field.
The school last month announced that it could not pay faculty salaries due to a lack of funds, and many worry that the situation will continue for several months, said APIC associate professor Tang Jen-chung (湯仁忠), who has taught at the school for 28 years.
While the majority of the students are to graduate this month, there would still be about 300 who would not graduate until next year or 2020, but the school has already arranged a meeting between teachers and its lawyer to discuss severance packages, he said.
“It is ridiculous that the school wants teachers to leave when there are still students. What will the students do without teachers? How will they complete their education?” union secretary-general Chen Cheng-liang (陳政亮) said.
“If the school must be closed down, the ministry should at least try to minimize the effects on students and teachers,” Chen said. “While students’ right to receive an education must be protected, teachers should be given some time before they are forced to leave.”
According to a 2015 ministry report to the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee, students should be allowed to complete their degrees before a school closes, he said.
The school should keep its teachers for as long as the students need them and not try to replace them with part-time instructors, he added.
The school’s assets should be used to keep it functional, Chen said, adding that a lack of cash does not have to lead to immediate closure.
The teachers and the union urged the ministry to pressure the school into keeping teachers on until the students graduate, saying that it should take over the board if necessary.
“This case will be a test of the government’s ability to protect the rights of teachers and students, while properly managing public educational resources before it officially launches its policy on university and college closures and transformation,” Chen said.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday briefed her party’s Central Standing Committee regarding her scheduled visit to the US between Monday next week and June 16, saying that her purpose would be to persuade the US that the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution was a “one China” constitution that would foster stable and peaceful cross-strait relations. The ROC Constitution is the most important defense for all Taiwanese citizens, as it upholds our democracy and has contributed to our robust economy, which aligns with international and US interests, she said. “We would not be troublemakers and drag the US under,”
RSS