Two KMT legislators have proposed that the current six-channel system for entry into senior high schools be cut instead to three channels, and for compulsory education to be extended to 12 years from the current nine.
Lu Hsiu-yen (
"Examinations within the educational system mean Taiwanese students cannot avoid a pressure-filled school life," Lu said.
"The project in question [the diversified senior high school admission plan (
Yesterday's meeting was attended by officials from the education ministry, teachers, parents and more than 20 junior high school students from Tungshih Junior High School (
The students and teachers made a special trip to Taipei to voice their concerns to government officials in regard to the diversified admission plan -- an admission scheme that is scheduled to be implemented next year to replace the current senior high school entrance examination.
"We understand the need to abolish the senior high school entrance examination. But thorough preparations need to be made before the new project is introduced," said one of the teachers.
Beginning in September of this year, the start of the next academic year, junior high school students will no longer have to take the senior high school entrance examination to obtain the necessary qualification to enter senior high school.
The diversified admission plan was designed to alleviate the burden faced by students preparing for the senior high school entrance examination by introducing six different methods for enrollment: basic competency tests, school recommendations, admission by application, admission based on school grades, a gifted students' program and direct admission within the same school.
However, various reports in the Chinese media have said that under the diversified admission plan, already on trial in a number of different schools, the pressure on students has actually increased.
"In the past, [junior high school] students really only suffered during their final year. But under the new system, they find themselves under pressure for the entire three years [of junior high school]," Lu said.
Recent media reports have said the trend is growing for junior high school students to attend cram schools not only for general subjects -- such as English, mathematics, natural sciences and social sciences -- but also for other diversified subjects, such as art and music.
"The termination of the senior high school entrance examination is well-intentioned. But to carry out sweeping reforms of the school entry system also leads to distortions within curriculums," said Yang Teng-chin (
Wu illustrated his point by noting that before the diversified admission plan was introduced, students were "streamed" within schools depending on their level of competence. Now, no such differentiation is made when assigning students to classes within the same grade.
"But the real situation in the classroom is that teachers find it harder to teach a group of students whose abilities vary so widely," said Wu.
Chen Chin Hsin (陳金新), deputy director of the Tungshih Junior High School's parent-teacher association, went on to say that embracing six different enrollment channels means parents are faced with six different registration fees. "Registration fees are not the only expense we have to cover. How about the costs we have to pay for every trip we make with our children to Taichung City to make all these applications?" asked Chen.
Tzeng said he appreciated the opinions offered by the teachers and students.
"To launch a new project requires in-depth preparation and discussion. Though challenged by all sorts of obstacles at this stage, we [educators] should not yet forsake the program.
Instead, more face-to-face communication like this should be conducted in the near future to meet the real needs of educational reforms," Tzeng said.
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