National Chengchi University President Wu Se-hwa (吳思華) yesterday vowed to nurture more of the nation’s innovative talent upon being appointed minister of education.
Taiwan is a country in transition, Wu said during a press conference.
“I would like to use my expertise to help Taiwan cultivate creative talent,” said Wu, a professor at the university’s Graduate Institute of Technology and Innovation Management.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Wu is to take over from Chiang Wei-ling (蔣偉寧), who resigned earlier this month over his alleged involvement in a peer review fraud in articles for an international scientific journal.
The Executive Yuan made the announcement in a press release, in which it praised Wu for his experience in teaching, research and administration, and said it expected him to help the government promote cooperation between industry and academia.
In the face of pressing issues in the nation’s education system, Wu said he appreciated the responsibility falling on his shoulders, although he was initially reluctant to take up the position when Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) first approached him.
Wu, who was born in 1955, said he has dedicated his career to education, with a view to providing a supportive learning environment for young people to help them achieve their goals and realize their dreams.
Jiang had prevailed on him several times to take up the post and, though unwilling at first, through their conversations, he found that he shared the same ideas in education as the premier, Wu said.
Having served a maximum two terms as president of the National Chengchi University as of tomorrow, the Ministry of Education last week asked Wu to be acting president of the university beginning on Friday until his successor is found.
Wu said he would assume the role of acting president of the university on Friday, then designate a deputy president to take charge of the school while the presidency is vacant before he is sworn in as minister of education.
The swearing-in ceremony is tentatively scheduled for early next week.
Wu is set to be the third education minister since President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) assumed office in May 2008
He is also to be the third university president to take on the role, following Chiang, who headed National Central University, and Cheng Jei-cheng (鄭瑞城), who also served as president of the National Chengchi University.
National Federation of Teachers Union president Chang Hsu-cheng (張旭政) said he expected Wu would look at the problems of the newly introduced 12-year education program, because he might be unfamiliar with elementary and secondary education since he has long worked in tertiary education.
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