Minister of Education Ovid Tzeng (
The ministry had been urged by cultural and educational groups to allow the universities to create departments of Taiwan history to promote Taiwan-oriented values, as opposed to Chinese-oriented cultural education.
Tzeng said that based on the principle of university autonomy, he would encourage and support those universities which adopt his ideas to establish departments or institutes of Taiwan history.
The education minister also said that with Taiwan's entry into the WTO imminent, his ministry informed local educational institutions to place more emphasis on teaching students international and local cultural values.
Tzeng called on colleges and universities to incorporate international cultural education into their curriculums.
"This directive is needed," Tzeng said, "to respond effectively to the tough competition our educational institutes will face upon Taiwan's WTO entry."
Upon accession to the world body, foreign nationals will be allowed to establish tertiary educational institutes in Taiwan and locally-based, foreign study-abroad agencies will be allowed to recruit and process applications from students for overseas study programs, he added.
To better prepare for this competition, Tzeng said, colleges and universities need to reach and maintain far higher standards to attract prospective students.
"The decline in student enrollments in Taiwan's tertiary education reflects this pressure," Tzeng said. "Increasing numbers are opting to study abroad."
The goal of international education, he explained, is to offer an opportunity for students across the nation to strengthen their foreign-language abilities and to develop a broader understanding of other nations and cultures.
"This can be done through student-exchange programs, overseas visit programs, international forums and other activities involving colleges abroad," Tzeng said.
He also stressed that the two initiatives -- strengthening understanding of international culture and Taiwanese culture -- should not conflict with each other.
"People in Taiwan ought to have an educational channel from which they can gain a better understanding of their own history, languages and various cultures," he said, adding that a better grasp of one's own culture can in fact help strengthen knowledge of international issues.
"While it is important to prepare young people to compete internationally," said Tsao Chi-hung (曹啟鴻), a member of the legislature's Educational and Cultural Committee, "it is just as important to provide them with educational tools to study Taiwanese culture."
The education minister echoed Tsao's view.
"To bring Taiwan to the world," Tzeng said, "we ought to have a thorough understanding of our own culture to begin with."
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