For more than half a year, political circles have been haunted by thesis scandals, as many candidates in last year’s local elections were accused of committing plagiarism in their master’s theses or doctoral dissertations. These accusations became a focus during campaigns, damaging not only the reputations of candidates, but also that of their parties.
Vice President and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman William Lai (賴清德) has demanded that party candidates sign a declaration of academic integrity confirming that their theses or dissertations do not contravene academic ethics, and that they are willing to face penalties for falsification, plagiarism, ghostwriting or fraud.
The DPP leadership has also invited experts and academics to form a review team to check the theses and dissertations of party candidates.
Candidates’ academic credentials can attract voters. In a Taiwan Education Watch survey, about 63 percent of the young people polled said that candidates’ academic degrees are important in elections, while only about 13 percent said they do not consider degrees as an important factor.
Many politicians pursue higher education, and they share with each other the benefits of “in-service” master’s or doctoral programs at colleges and universities. These programs have become a shortcut for political advancement, part of a notorious convention embedded in Taiwan’s bureaucratic system in which people try to get promoted using every means at their disposal.
An investigation of top administrative bureaucrats might reveal that a large number of them have obtained higher degrees through in-service programs. This problematic belief in “credentialism” could shake the foundation of the country.
At the same time, due to a drastic decline in the birthrate, universities are making every effort to recruit students. Universities seek to attract the rich and powerful as students as a way to obtain resources, and because they can help attract more students. As a result, private and public universities are competing for students with in-service programs. As the saying goes: “Beggars can’t be choosers.”
Even if teachers remind students to cite sources and avoid plagiarism, educators still need to check whether students have plagiarized when grading papers. Luckily, with search engines such as Google, plagiarism can often be detected, and students who plagiarize need to pay a price for it.
Unlike some politicians, many students work hard on their theses and dissertations, and they complain about in-service programs that allow some to obtain a high-level degree with less effort.
To deal with the situation, Taiwan Education Watch launched a “big clean-up of higher education diplomas” at the end of last year. Calling on education circles to clean up their reputations, the project intends to examine all degree theses and dissertations publicly, build an independent review mechanism and request that the Ministry of Education disclose information about plagiarism.
Regrettably, although some universities have addressed ethical issues, it is hard for them to resist political intervention. Meanwhile, the ministry is neglecting its duty of supervision using the excuse of “university autonomy.”
Wu Ruey-beei is chairman of Taiwan Education Watch. Tai Po-fen is secretary-general of Taiwan Education Watch.
Translated by Eddy Chang
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