Having decided that National Taiwan University (NTU) journalism professor Peng Wen-cheng (彭文正) has held dual posts by anchoring a TV political talk show, the Ministry of Education has demanded that the university address the issue by the end of this month.
Peng has been accused of violating the regulation regarding public-school educators holding concurrent posts, with his Next TV show Jeng Chin Talk (正晶限時批) becoming a popular talk show.
Minister of Education Wu Se-hwa (吳思華) yesterday said that the ministry on Monday had ordered the school to deal with the issue within a month, adding that the ministry would consider withholding the university’s academic research fees should it mishandle the case.
Photo: Hu Shun-shiang, Taipei Times
“Wu has turned a blind eye to [Peng’s] violation of the regulation [concerning public-school teachers holding dual posts]. Teachers working a second job might as well work at hostess clubs,” Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Alex Tsai (蔡正元) has said.
NTU secretary-general Lin Ta-te (林達德) said that if Peng intends to continue hosting the show, he has to submit a formal request to hold concurrent posts, with the permission pending reviews by the university and its Graduate Institute of Journalism, where Peng teaches.
During the review, Peng is allowed to anchor the show and his TV work prior to Monday would be exempt from any conclusion reached by school authorities, Lin said.
The ministry stipulates that educators at public schools are permitted to hold concurrent posts if the following criteria are met: the employers have established partnerships with schools; the nature of the extra job is related to the educators’ profession; educators cannot work more than eight hours per week in their second job; and the extra work cannot affect the educators’ academic job, Lin said.
It is unlikely that NTU would approve Peng’s request because the show — a two-hour program on weekdays — apparently exceeds the working time cap stipulated by the ministry, Lin said.
Peng’s case would set a precedent for future cases that involve professors working a second job, Lin said.
In response, Peng said that doing extra work is not the equivalent of holding dual posts, because people from all walks of life can write a book without it being considered working a second job, adding that his TV work is an alternative form of knowledge production.
He said that the authorities should reconsider the regulations regarding public-school educators holding concurrent jobs in general, instead of selectively targeting him, and that any decision made by NTU reviewers cannot be altered afterward or be applied to his previous conduct.
The ministry’s working time cap is not applicable to his case, because the show’s weekly airtime is not equivalent to his weekly working hours, as the prerecorded program can be aired in segments, so recording time is flexible, Peng said.
Educators should be allowed to produce knowledge in any form and content without it being considered to be holding dual posts, he said.
He called on the authorities to make his case a precedent for educators involved in diversified knowledge production.
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