The Ministry of Education's policy of tuition hikes does not guarantee a better quality of higher education, Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) legislators said yesterday, as they urged the ministry to cut the interest rates on education loans to reduce the debt burden on students.
"The ministry said that tuition hikes are necessary to improve the quality of education. However, many of the schools that want to raise their tuition rates received bad scores in the ministry's review last year," TSU Secretary-General Cheng Cheng-lung (
According to statistics compiled by the TSU, of the 64 colleges and universities that plan to raise their tuition this fall, eight have faculties where associated professors and professors make up less than 30 percent of the staff, while more than 50 percent of the departments at eight schools were rated second or third-class in the ministry's university review last year.
PHOTO: WANG YI-SUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
While public universities make up 60 percent of all higher education institutions in the US, public schools only account for 30 percent of all colleges and universities in this country, Cheng said.
Although tuition costs at US universities are much higher, tuition only accounts for about 30 percent of the schools' total revenues, he said, noting that many US schools are heavily dependent upon government support, private donations and other financial sources. In Taiwan, many colleges and universities rely on tuition fees, while the ministry uses much of its budget to pay for its former employees' pensions, he said.
"One of the government's responsibilities is to improve the quality of higher education and provide financial support if needed. Putting the financial burden on students' shoulders without ensuring that the educational quality of schools corresponds with higher tuition is irresponsible," he said.
TSU Legislator Tseng Tsan-deng (曾燦登) called on the ministry to set up a committee to review schools that apply to raise their tuition rates by examining the teacher-student ratio, number of professors and annual performance.
Tseng also suggested that the ministry cut the interest rate on tuition loans from the current 2.9 percent to 1.5 percent, saying the higher rate means students are graduating with debts of about NT$400,000 (US$12,560).
Ministry policy says that any college or university whose expenses make up more than 85 percent of its annual income can apply to raise its tuition rates.
The ministry said that tuition hikes are inevitable given rising educational costs. To take care of low-income students and protect students' rights, however, the ministry set up a committee this year and invited parents, students and business representatives to examine the financial records and education quality of schools, it said in a written statement.
In response to growing a number of complaints from the public that college tuition costs are becoming unreasonably high, the ministry has established a financial-aid program, which is expected to provide a total of NT$2.1 billion to undergraduate and graduate students in the form of scholarships and other financial aid.
Students who receive loans from the ministry to cover their college tuition do not have to start repaying their loans for the first three years after they graduate if their annual income is under NT$240,000, the ministry said.
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