Officials at the Ministry of Education yesterday unveiled a draft for its first white paper on university education, spelling out what the ministry calls "tuition liberalization" -- working toward removing controls over college tuition fees so as to let the market mechanism decide what prices students should pay for their education.
The draft paper also calls for the internationalization of the education system, as well as the promotion of Taiwan-focused studies.
The ministry had set uniform standards for tuition fees charged by both public and private colleges until 1999, after which a plan was implemented to allow "flexible" tuition fees in colleges.
Though tuition fees are no longer standardized under the plan, colleges are still subject to some restrictions.
For private universities, the ministry will decide whether to approve their proposal depending on their management performance and on the ratio of the money received from tuition fees to the expenditures on administrative management, teaching, research, counseling and scholarships for students.
For public universities -- which receive around 80 percent of their funding from the ministry now, funds derived from tuition fees cannot go beyond the shortfall that they are supposed to raise on their own. Also, the annual hike in tuition fees should not exceed 10 percent.
While the flexibility that colleges enjoy will be expanded over time, the tuition fees will be fully liberalized after higher education opportunities grow to an extent that allow "colleges to choose students" and "students to choose colleges" autonomously, the draft says.
"By this time, the tuition fees charged by colleges will be responsible for education quality, and the development and survival of colleges will depend on market mechanisms," said Chen Der-hwa (
In 1999, the number of registered colleges in Taiwan are 115, consisting of 56 public and 59 private. Currently, another two public colleges and 30 private colleges are being set up.
The net college enrollment rate for students between 18 and 21 years-of-age is expected to grow from 33.3 percent in 1998 to 37.81 percent in 2002, the draft predicts. the percentage of people who have received higher education will also grow from 36.5 to 38.5 for every 1,000 people.
As the ministry begins to lift the control of tuition fees, it will also make sure that education opportunities for underprivileged students doesn't go by the wayside because of higher tuition fees, Chen said.
According to the draft, the ministry will seek to increase the availability of scholarships by setting up new scolarships systmes in colleges, encouraging donations from the private sector and assisting colleges in the creation of their own financial sources.
Other essential areas addressed by the paper include quality control of higher education, operation mechanisms of college autonomy, distribution of education resources, integration of resources, establishment of unique characteristics in each college, corporate interaction and excellency in higher education.
The white paper is set to be finalized in March.
The ministry has scheduled rounds of public discussions among university presidents throughout this week to serve as the basis of improvement to the draft.
Officials added that attention will also be given to: interaction between universities and local communities, attempts at internationalization and measures to focus more on Taiwan culture.
DETERRENCE: With 1,000 indigenous Hsiung Feng II and III missiles and 400 Harpoon missiles, the nation would boast the highest anti-ship missile density in the world With Taiwan wrapping up mass production of Hsiung Feng II and III missiles by December and an influx of Harpoon missiles from the US, Taiwan would have the highest density of anti-ship missiles in the world, a source said yesterday. Taiwan is to wrap up mass production of the indigenous anti-ship missiles by the end of year, as the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology has been meeting production targets ahead of schedule, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said. Combined with the 400 Harpoon anti-ship missiles Taiwan expects to receive from the US by 2028, the nation would have
‘UNWAVERING FRIENDSHIP’: A representative of a Japanese group that co-organized a memorial, said he hopes Japanese never forget Taiwan’s kindness President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday marked the 15th anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, urging continued cooperation between Taiwan and Japan on disaster prevention and humanitarian assistance. Lai wrote on social media that Taiwan and Japan have always helped each other in the aftermath of major disasters. The magnitude 9 earthquake struck northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, triggering a massive tsunami that claimed more than 19,000 lives, according to data from Japanese authorities. Following the disaster, Taiwan donated more than US$240 million in aid, making it one of the largest contributors of financial assistance to Japan. In addition to cash donations and
CLOSER TO CHINA: The upgraded Type-12 missile has a range of about 1,000km, compared with the original model’s range of 200km, and can reach mainland China Japan is preparing to deploy its first batch of domestically developed long-range missiles, with their launchers arriving at an army camp yesterday, as the country accelerates its offensive capability in response to rising challenges in the region. The upgraded Type-12 land-to-ship missiles are to be deployed at Camp Kengun in Japan’s southwestern prefecture of Kumamoto by the end of this month, completing the process of deployment, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said without giving details. Army vehicles carrying the launchers and other equipment arrived past midnight in a highly secretive mission criticized by residents. Dozens of people stood outside of the
Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) yesterday assured the public that the nation is not facing an imminent power shortage as supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) remains sufficient and there is no need to increase coal-fired power generation in the short term. Taiwan has secured 20 of the 22 LNG cargoes needed for this and next month, with the remaining two still under negotiation and expected to be secured soon, Kung said, urging the public not to worry. A sufficient supply of LNG supply means coal-fired generation should operate as normal, he said, describing speculation that the nation could face
RSS