Several university students have committed suicide, including students at top public universities, raising concern among education authorities regarding campus safety, and students’ mental and physical health.
A university is where people of different generations meet and learn. Some of the young people who have just graduated from high school might be unable to effectively set goals, be unsure whether they like their majors and perhaps also be a little confused about what the future will hold. They often need time to adapt while they search for direction.
During that time, it is crucial that they have support from teachers and friends. Due to the accessibility of smartphones, real human interaction has continued to decline, posing a challenge to society.
However, people should not only pay attention to the pressure on students, but also the pressure on lecturers, which has surged in the past few years.
Generally speaking, university professors and regular lecturers have three major responsibilities: research, teaching and service. Among these duties, research accounts for the largest proportion, and it is key to a lecturer’s promotion and contract renewal.
Unfortunately, under the Ministry of Education’s direction in the past few years, almost all schools, including vocational-oriented science and technology colleges and universities, have been focusing on research results.
Faced with an accumulative point system, lecturers are constantly busy, as they need to submit papers to core journals and publish books to be able to qualify for a promotion. In addition, they must attend international conferences to gain more opportunities for collaboration.
In an atmosphere that values research over teaching, lecturers and professors are usually too busy to answer students’ questions, let alone to try to understand the difficulties in their learning or interpersonal relationships.
In July, the ministry proposed a draft amendment to the Regulations Governing Accreditation of Teacher Qualifications at Junior Colleges and Institutions of Higher Education (專科以上學校教師資格審定辦法), which has drawn strong protests from colleges and universities.
They believe the amendment would likely infringe on university autonomy, and the additional requirements for reviewing promotions would make the process more complex. This would also result in an intangible increase in the pressure on lecturers, as they are deeply worried about being punished by the ministry through reduced recruitment, as well as through the cancelation of rewards and subsidies.
In a tough environment like this, the mental and physical well-being of academics is under as much pressure as that of their students, and they would not have time for heart-to-heart talks with their students about their troubles.
Authorities must attach importance to lecturers’ and students’ problems at institutions of higher education. In addition to students’ rights to education and opportunities to build character, attention must also be given to the pressure on lecturers, which must not be overlooked.
For example, research and teaching should be seen as equally important, and research should not be the only focus.
Higher education can cultivate independent thinking and a healthy character in young people, and it can enhance the country’s future competitiveness. The ministry’s priority should be to reduce lecturers’ research workload, so they can show greater care for their students.
Liu Wei-ting is a postdoctoral fellow at Academia Sinica.
Translated by Eddy Chang
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