If 7 percent of a country’s population are aged 65 and above, it is considered an “aging society,” if 14 percent belong to that age group, it is considered an “aged society” and if that climbs to 20 percent, it is a “super-aged society.”
Seven years ago, Taiwan became an aging society and two years ago an aged society. This year, more than 10 percent of those older than 65 are classified as “super-aged,” meaning that they are 85 or older. If this trend continues, Taiwan would within five years become a super-aged society.
A rising life expectancy is undoubtedly positive, but it means that social welfare payments, housing prices and living costs would likely continue to rise. For recent university graduates and young families, the burden would likely become greater. The number of unmarried and childless Taiwanese would likely grow, leading to a population imbalance and an unequal distribution of resources.
Last year, Vietnam’s population was 96.2 million, and it is predicted to reach 104 million by 2030. The average age of in the country is 27, and less than 6 percent of the population are aged 65 and older.
By comparison, more than 16 percent of Taiwan’s population of 23.57 million are retirees aged 65 and older. This demographic discrepancy is clearly evidenced in the competitiveness gap between Taiwan and Vietnam.
In Taiwan, for every three public kindergartens, there are seven private schools. The average monthly fee for public kindergartens is NT$4,000, for non-profits it is NT$9,000, and the most expensive private kindergartens cost a little under NT$20,000 per month, excluding registration fees and other costs.
Due to the fee discrepancy, many parents fight to secure a place for their children at a public kindergarten. Not only are the fees reasonable, the quality of the teachers is usually excellent and the teacher-to-student ratio is good. Additionally, the staff turnover rate at public kindergartens is relatively low.
The situation at most private kindergartens is different. The biggest dilemma facing the private sector is that salaries for preschool teachers are low, while the working hours are long — on average nearly 12 hours per day.
The daily ferrying of children to and from their homes, all sorts of extreme pressures from parents and frivolous complaints made at the drop of a hat have resulted in a high staff turnover rate. This has had an effect on the quality of the education.
This year, births and deaths in Taiwan have reached a key inflection point: Out of every 1,000 people, less than 7 percent are getting married, and each married woman is giving birth to less than one child. This means that successive generations of Taiwanese will continue to produce exponentially fewer children.
The question is how to streamline education so that the next generation would be better equipped to deal with the pressure of international competition.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the nation’s most vocal industries have received hundreds of billions of New Taiwan dollars in bailout funds from the government and still demand more.
Meanwhile, the interlinked problems of an aging population and insufficient preschool ressources have become so acute that they are starting to have national security implications.
The government must invest its limited resources into early childhood and elementary education. Reform must address the salaries and working hours of teachers.
Kindergarten and elementary-school teachers’ salaries should be raised to a level comparable to university assistant professors and full-time professors to attract more talent into the field.
Lai Ming-huang is an engineer with a doctorate from National Cheng Kung University.
Translated by Edward Jones
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