A low birth rate and a changing social fabric have toppled education from the list of most-popular courses favored by college-bound students, who are increasingly opting for courses such as tourism and catering, figures released by the Ministry of Education show.
The statistics compared the 50 most-popular departments among students who applied for college last year with those in 2004. It showed that education — which ranked 12th 10 years ago — had fallen out of the top 50 list.
By contrast, logistics, catering, transportation and tourism departments, which students in 2004 generally shunned, saw a surge in interest, with five fields of studies ranking in the top 25.
In particular, restaurant and tourism management departments made it to the top 10, outranking regularly charted fields such as law and economics.
The difference is most likely a result of a change in the nation’s demographics — a low birth rate and a longer life expectancy — ministry officials said, adding that nursing ranked seventh on the list thanks to an aging society and increasing demand for professional caregivers.
The number of part-time teachers waiting to become full-time staff also contributed to the fall in popularity of education, the officials said.
Meanwhile, electrical engineering, mechanics, information and business administration continued to be mainstays, ranking in the top five on both lists.
Given the growing demand for software engineers in the digital age, information management advanced 12 places to take the top spot last year.
Statistics also indicated that students nowadays favor applied language departments, such as the department of applied English, over traditional language departments, while philosophy and political science did not make it to the list, officials said.
Design-related studies also showed a significant rise in popularity, with visual communication ranking 14th.
Commenting on the catering industry’s growing popularity, Howard Plaza Hotel head chef Tsai Ching-nan (蔡清南) said that catering is a very demanding job. Only about one-third of those who major in catering end up pursuing a career in this field, he said.
Dental implant manufacturer HC Bio-S president Cheng Hung-chun (鄭鴻鈞) said that working attitude — not educational background — is what matters the most, adding that he would promote whoever works hard to high-ranking positions.
Online job bank Yes 123 vice president Yang Tsung-bin (楊宗斌) said that a surfeit of bachelor’s and master’s degree holders means that most first-time workers are likely to receive low wages, except for jobs that require high technical expertise, such as doctors.
Yang said college students should develop a competitive edge before graduation if they are to a land a decent job.
For example, they can obtain a certificate in a specialized field, participate in internship programs, or learn a useful skill, he said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS