Amid a recent reshuffle in the Taipei City Government, Taipei City Department of Education Commissioner Kang Tzong-hu (康宗虎) has offered his resignation to take responsibility for controversies surrounding the tri-city high school entrance exam policy, the city government said yesterday.
The exam, which took place in May in Taipei, New Taipei City (新北市) and Keelung following the implementation of the single-textbook policy, sparked controversy after some students complained about “ambiguous admission thresholds.”
The Taipei City Government tried to end the disputes by opening up more than 2,000 vacancies for new admissions, but the measure failed to placate students and their parents as they urged the city government to cancel the exam next year.
Kang, who was allegedly asked to take full responsibility for the problematic policy, tendered his resignation after the city government offered to accept new admissions late last month, and Hau has approved his resignation, Taipei City Government spokesman Chang Chi-chiang (張其強) said yesterday.
The resignation will take effect after the new admission process is completed on Tuesday, according to Chang.
“Commissioner Kang offered to resign after he oversaw the admission process. Mayor Hau agreed with his resignation, while approving of his hard work and sense of responsibility,” he said.
News of Kang’s resignation came amid a recent reshuffle in Hau’s team. Former Taipei City Secretariat director Yang Hsi-an (楊錫安), who was removed from his post last year over his alleged involvement in the Xinsheng Overpass (新生高架橋) construction scandal, on Monday declined Hau’s appointment of him as Taipei deputy mayor.
Yang turned down the appointment after the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office ordered Taipei prosecutors to reopen the investigation into his role in the scandal.
Kang’s resignation yesterday made things more difficult for Hau as he strained to fill the vacancies.
Hau yesterday presided over the appointment of three new officials — Taipei Deputy Mayor Chen Hsiung-wen (陳雄文), Taipei Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Cheng Mei-hua (鄭美華) and Taipei Government Ethics Department Director Liu Ming-wu (劉明武).
Cheng took over his position after former commissioner Hsieh Hsiao-yun (謝小韞) resigned last week amid disputes over the exhibitions at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City Councilor Wu Su-yao (吳思瑤) and several arts groups yesterday expressed disappointment over the appointment of Cheng, a general education professor at Shih Chien University, accusing Hau of failing to appoint experts in related fields to lead the city’s artistic and cultural development.
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