In August, after a 15-year hiatus, the Ministry of Education is to hold the Eighth National Conference on Education. The title of the conference is “New Century, New Education, New Assurances,” which does offer some hope that we will actually see something positive arising out of it. What we would really like to see put forward is a vision for the role of education in the next 100 years.
If this is going to materialize, the government needs to first change the way it sees adult education and people’s access rights. The government has to see beyond the traditional distinction between formal education and other types of learning. This is especially true in these times of rapid social change as people are having fewer children and the population is aging. The government, in short, needs to give us assurances of a new education system with which to face the new century.
According to 2008 figures from the Council for Economic Planning and Development, 73 percent of Taiwan’s 23 million population, or just under 17 million people, are older than the university-leaving age of 21. People over the age of 18, the age at which adult education becomes applicable, number 18 million, almost four-fifths of the population.
Put this in the context of the percentage of the overall annual budget for education — 4 percent — allotted to adult education. If you deduct the running costs for cultural centers, you’re looking at around 2 percent, quite a distance from the 6 percent supposedly guaranteed in the 1998 white paper on “Teaching and Learning: Toward the Learning Society.”
However, there have been some positive developments for adult education in Taiwan over the last decade. There was the aforementioned white paper, followed by the 2002 Lifelong Learning Act (終身學習法). Recently, the education ministry has also been looking into making it easier for mature students to study at university, as well as the viability of integrating community universities and the open university into the system.
That being said, this planning needs to be done at a high level of government, however unlikely that is to happen. Given that this is currently not the case means that any amendments to the Lifelong Learning Act are destined to be rather moderate in nature: There will be no ambitious or progressive moves, no startling new vision and little hope of funding a comprehensive adult learning program that will accommodate the 18 million adults in this country.
Taiwan is falling behind South Korea, which guarantees access to adult education in its Constitution and actively promotes the idea of lifelong learning for its population. By not following South Korea’s lead we are also failing to apply the principle of fairness and justice for all.
How is it that people in Taiwan have an average life expectancy of 79, and yet we provide formal education for less than a third of that time? If we don’t change our approach to adult education we will be on course for a new era of illiteracy, given the speed at which things are changing in society.
If you hobble yourself now you cannot expect to keep up.
If we want to increase the overall level of skills and knowledge and, consequently, our competitiveness, we could do worse than look to the example of South Korea and their attitude to funding lifelong learning. There it is not the responsibility of the Ministry of Education alone: Their 2006 budget of about NT$100 billion (US$3.1 billion) was spread over several government departments, including the Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.
Their government provides more than just financial support for lifelong learning, it is also involved in planning a varied and inclusive higher education system for adults, including ideas such as academic credit banks. There are many differences between Taiwan and South Korea, including in our education systems, but that does not mean that we cannot learn some valuable lessons from their example.
South Korea has been able to transform itself into a highly competitive nation because they have grasped the opportunity to educate their population and promote the idea of learning. If South Korea can do this, what is stopping Taiwan?
In the last few years, we have seen a proliferation in the number of universities in Taiwan and a corresponding increase in degree certificates, but there has been no concomitant increase in resources allocated to adult education. Even now, almost 11 million people over the age of 20 do not have a university degree. The sheer number of degree certificates has the effect of diluting their value, but this also provides all kinds of opportunities for further adult education.
We really need a comprehensive plan for education in this country for the coming century, especially in view of demographic changes occurring at the moment. This issue needs to be taken seriously and approached with an open mind. We have to come up with a higher education system for adult learners that makes sense.
The Twelfth National Conference on Community Universities was held in Taipei on May 1 and 2, and the hope is that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) took note of the findings. We want to see the development of lifelong learning policy taken up by the highest levels of government.
The momentum generated at this conference will, we hope, capture the public’s imagination and in no time at all, it might be possible to study for a “Bll” degree, a Bachelor’s of Lifelong Learning. There could even be a clearly defined learning road map that would help to unleash the huge potential of adult learning.
At the same time, we need to rethink the current funding priorities which are biased in favor of formal education, bringing it more in line with the rapidly shifting demographics to more adequately reflect the importance of adult education. All of this will help to prepare Taiwan for the challenges it will face in the future.
Tsai Su-chen is vice president of the National Association for the Promotion of Community Universities and principal of the Songshan Community College.
TRANSLATED BY PAUL COOPER
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