Liberty Times (LT): What are your thoughts on returning to the position of education minister?
Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠): Regarding the latest Cabinet reshuffle, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said to me: “Many of the Ministry of Education’s policies — from higher education to national education — were planned during your term. You have a responsibility to execute and implement them.”
Su was also concerned that it would be difficult for a new appointee to pick up the task. Therefore, I returned to the Ministry of Education. I hope that education policies can be carried out more smoothly.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
The controversy over National Taiwan University’s [NTU] presidential selection is still ongoing. I have previously stated clearly that the Ministry of Education is acting according to the law. It asked for clarification on the controversy and also assessed the issues regarding the [then-NTU] president-elect’s eligibility.
However, this triggered a politicized vilification of the ministry, increasing the pressure and burden on my colleagues at the Ministry of Education. As the minister, I had to express my position, so I chose to leave.
Over the past two years, there have been problems with the selection of presidents at public and private schools in Taiwan. The NTU controversy further highlighted several systemic issues.
I had previously launched an evaluation of the system for selecting presidents at universities. The Ministry of Education expects to propose a plan to improve the system within six months.
On the one hand is the selection system. The regulations and procedures set by the schools, as well as the eligibility of the candidates, need to be more public and transparent, and subjected to discussions, review, etc.
Universities need to be autonomous. The design of the presidential selection and other administrative systems needs to ensure self-regulation and strive to avoid controversies.
LT: Is the ministry planning any measures as a follow-up to the Control Yuan’s impeachment of NTU president Kuan Chung-ming (管中閔) and its amendments to the selection process?
Pan: With regard to Kuan’s misconduct case, we need to wait for the Ministry of Justice’s Public Functionary Disciplinary Sanction Commission to re-examine the case and decide what measures to take.
Kuan never explained to Control Yuan members the details of his leave of absence. The commission might ask him whether he wishes to speak in his defense — this is normal legal procedure.
Kuan’s previous part-time work being called into question involves that performed while he was at Academia Sinica, the National Development Council and while he was a political officer — all public-service posts.
The Control Yuan has said that for all public servants under the Ministry of Civil Service, part-time work is defined as one that is stable, continuous and long-term, and for which wages are earned.
The commission might talk to these agencies to determine whether they authorized Kuan’s part-time employment, among other questions.
The Ministry of Education would implement whatever measures decided by the commission.
The Ministry of Justice has also asked for a thorough investigation to root out any illegal part-time work undertaken by professors at public universities and for the findings to be made public.
The Ministry of Education has an independent supervisor to look into professors’ part-time work in the private sector, but they need to dig deeper to understand the specifics of each case. Their findings will be made public once they have a clearer understanding of the situation.
The Ministry of Education would also require universities to establish regulations to set the scope of part-time work and ask them to manage the issue.
The basic principle is that the rules should be followed. Whether a university or a government agency, authorization should always be sought before part-time work is undertaken. Failure to secure authorization before engaging in part-time work will not be tolerated.
LT: How will the Ministry of Education make sure that universities are both autonomous and self-regulating?
Pan: Universities select their own presidents, but they need to ensure that the process and the person who is selected can stand up to public scrutiny and the supervision of the Ministry of Education — that is self-regulation.
The same applies to the universities’ operations. The Ministry of Education supports the autonomous development of universities, but they do not have the final say on their administrative effectiveness and research results.
The Higher Education Sprout Project requires operational information to be publicized. Apart from enrollment rates and other statistics [that the ministry had previously required universities to publicize], the ministry would also be requiring them to make their financial status and educational achievements more public, and disclose [statistics regarding] post-graduation plans, academic performance and other information about their students.
LT: What do you feel can be done to allow higher education institutions to survive the nation’s declining birthrate, which is expected to worsen?
Pan: Universities must develop their uniqueness. They cannot just blindly ask for government protection, and they cannot demand more students. They must run their institutions in a way that seeks refinement and excellence.
The Ministry of Education is also thinking about ways to help improve public universities’ operations, such as offering guidance, establishing regulations about when universities should leave the market and providing funds to assist them if they do so. We hope to help schools design programs that match students and professors appropriately.
Universities will think in more forward-looking ways, such as developing independent, international research centers. We will encourage universities to find their niche and aim for excellence within that niche.
Translated by staff writers Sherry Hsiao and William Hetherington
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