Aboriginal peoples would be able to play a greater role in the planning and implementation of their education system if the Legislative Yuan passes a bill that was approved by the Executive Yuan on Thursday.
Under the draft amendment to the Education Act for Indigenous Peoples (原住民族教育法), the government would consult Aboriginal peoples and communities about the curriculums up to senior-high school levels in their regions.
As the Indigenous Peoples Basic Act (原住民族基本法) requires the government to respect Aboriginal peoples’ right to choose their lifestyle, customs and clothing, “the implementation of Aboriginal education, therefore, should factor in the thinking, values and organization patterns of such groups,” the proposed amendment says.
It also states that if necessary, schools in Aboriginal regions may invite local representatives of Aboriginal groups to sit on the curriculum development committees.
For schools outside these regions, special attention should be paid to the cultural characteristics and value systems of the nation’s various Aboriginal peoples when selecting and editing textbooks, the draft says.
Taiwan officially recognizes 16 Aboriginal peoples and has several designated regions that are home to Aboriginal peoples, their history and culture.
The draft also stipulates that Aboriginal teachers who receive government-funded training should be assigned to schools in accordance with their Aboriginal language specialties.
In addition, schools where Aborigines comprise more than 50 percent of the student body should give priority to qualified Aboriginal candidates when hiring directors and presidents, it says.
The draft also includes a clause proposing that all students up to the senior-high school level be allowed to study Aboriginal languages, history and culture — choices that are now available only to Aboriginal students.
The bill would also allow the government to provide incentives to private organizations so that they could provide Aboriginal education to the general public and promote greater awareness of cultural diversity.
“It is our hope that not only Aboriginal students, but all students, school faculty members and the general public would have a better appreciation of cultural diversity and develop a better understanding of and respect for Aboriginal communities,” Huang Wen-ling (黃雯玲), head of the Ministry of Education’s Department of Planning, told a news conference after a Cabinet meeting.
The bill is seen as part of the government’s effort to fulfill President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2016 campaign pledge to build a more comprehensive Aboriginal education system.
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