On the Teachers’ Day holiday last week, dozens of teachers protested outside the Ministry of Education, urging that something be done to address multiple issues in schools that are depriving the sector of talent and diminishing enthusiasm among educators.
Their concerns ranged from an increase in frivolous lawsuits and administrative overwork to an unfriendly work environment and what they describe as government policies disconnected from classroom realities.
The protesters also criticized a disciplinary process they say has become opaque and punitive, as the system allows vague, anonymous or even malicious complaints to damage a teacher’s reputation and career with little recourse or transparency.
These protests are part of a growing tide of dissatisfaction among educators across Taiwan. A national survey conducted by Shi Hsin University’s Opinion Poll Research Center in 2023 found that nearly one in three elementary, junior-high school and high-school teachers were deeply unhappy with their jobs, citing burnout, unrealistic expectations and poor policy coordination between ministries.
It is not difficult to see why morale is low. Educators are increasingly expected to serve as counselors, administrators, event planners and social workers — all while managing academic outcomes in a system that often fails them.
Parents are also creating pressure. According to the survey, the two most significant causes of dissatisfaction among teachers were being asked by parents to address issues better handled at home and heavy workloads resulting from parents’ unrealistic expectations.
The ministry has updated its guidelines for campus disciplinary processes and proposed legal reforms. However, the changes are not strong enough or aimed at core issues.
This disconnect is especially urgent given Taiwan’s broader demographic context. Student enrollment has dropped by 6.4 percent since 2019, and the downward trend is likely to continue as the birthrate declines. School closures in rural areas have already begun and there is growing anxiety in urban districts, where maintaining enrollment numbers is essential for continued funding and operation.
Some schools might feel pressured to appease parents to retain students — even at the expense of teachers’ well-being. When teachers feel unsupported or disposable in their roles, it undermines the stability of the very classrooms students depend on.
The government faces a delicate balancing act — meeting the rising expectations of parents and students while ensuring that teachers feel valued, supported and willing to remain in the profession.
Of course, teachers must be held to high standards — but they also deserve support, due process, clear disciplinary guidelines and reasonable protection from bad-faith accusations.
Respecting teachers’ expertise does not mean ignoring professional misconduct. It means building a system that distinguishes between mistakes, malice and misunderstanding — and is built to handle that.
Taiwan’s education system is buckling under the pressure of demographic shifts, political pressures and long-standing structural inefficiencies. If nothing changes, the result will be fewer passionate teachers, emptier schools and an increasingly transactional view of education. That outcome would serve no one — not students, not parents, not teachers and certainly not the country’s future.
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