Following the Advanced Subjects Test (AST) on July 4, the competition for students among colleges and universities has reached its final stage.
The nation’s declining birth rate means education providers have to work harder to recruit enough students. As a result, many have used gimmicks to promote their programs and set down ridiculous requirements for students applying through recommendation, as well as those applying with AST scores.
Their approach might contravene the spirit in which the education system was designed and require the attention of regulatory authorities.
The basic admission requirements for colleges and universities using test scores or other considerations should be based on the specialist skills needed to complete the program.
However, a look at the requirements of several schools shows that while many design programs that have no requirements at all, some of the bottom-ranked private institutes only require minimal scores on minor subjects, completely disregarding students’ core skills.
For example, some English departments do not require a minimal English score, while some accounting departments — quite unbelievably — do not look at prospective students’ mathematics scores.
One university has even made students’ scores in Chinese the only requirement for all of its programs, except for its psychology program, which requires minimal scores in Chinese and social studies.
Another university has listed Chinese and social studies scores as the only requirements for all of its business programs, entirely skipping English and mathematics scores, which is simply shocking.
When it comes to the interview phase for students applying via recommendation, many universities and colleges not only lower their standards, but also use every conceivable means to attract applicants.
The admission process has almost become a war as institutes compete for students. Many deliberately choose the same interview dates as others, leaving students with fewer choices. Some even require students to participate in a campus tour for their group interview.
Although they claim the tour is not part of the test, candidates receive a score for attending the tour and those who fail to do so are disqualified.
Furthermore, at interviews students are not asked any questions about their abilities, but only whether they would actually study at the school if they were to be accepted.
When the number of students is the only important thing, interviews become a mere formality and the spirit of education is lost.
As for students applying to colleges and universities with AST scores, many famous private and public institutes have dropped requirements for basic skills that are essential for completing the program, completely disregarding students’ scores in major subjects.
Some computer science and engineering programs do not require students to demonstrate good scores in advanced mathematics, but only require acceptable scores in basic mathematics.
Although interdisciplinary cooperation will become increasingly common, it is still necessary for science and engineering students to have basic scientific knowledge.
However, most science and engineering programs have changed their requirements for AST scores so they can attract more high-school students to humanities courses.
Such an approach is questionable.
When questioned by high schools on its new admissions approach, a university’s vice president said that engineering programs in the future would be more flexible and many of them now focus on software development, which makes high-school students on the humanities track eligible to apply for them.
However, the quota for students applying through recommendation has increased significantly in recent years and more than 70 percent of the quota is for top science and engineering programs, with less than half of them for top humanities programs.
As a result, more humanities students are taking the AST than non-humanities students.
Institutes are most likely changing their admission approach to recruit more students.
Nonetheless, one cannot help but ask: Will humanities-track students be able to graduate after they are admitted to science and engineering programs?
Even if they do graduate, would they be able to survive in the job market?
Should not education providers feel ashamed for doing whatever it takes to win students, ignoring their lack of abilities and adding unnecessary stress on lecturers?
The education system, which allows students to apply to a university in a variety of ways, was designed to help students enter institutes best suited to their talents, as well as ensuring diversity.
However, the drop in enrollment in recent years caused by the declining birth rate has made many colleges and universities change their requirements for AST and for admission through recommendation to the point that the requirements have become mere formalities, and are no longer in line with their original purposes.
It is now time to overhaul the entire admissions system.
When the admissions system is failing and its original purposes are not being met, the Ministry of Education must intervene and fix the problem.
Wen Shun-te is director of academic affairs at a senior high school.
Translated by Tu Yu-an
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