The revolving door between the Ministry of Education (MOE) and private universities should be closed, union activists said yesterday, adding that close ties between the two had led to conflicts of interest, while crowding out young academics.
“If you look at where the ministry’s heads, deputy ministers, department directors and secretary-generals have gone after leaving office over the past 20 years, it is evident that an extremely high percentage have taken important posts in private universities,” Taiwan Higher Education Union secretary-general Chen Cheng-liang (陳政亮) said, calling for “revolving door” restrictions to be implemented to regulate such transfers.
Union statistics showed that three former ministers of education, 10 former deputy ministers and almost all former secretary-generals over the past 20 years have accepted high-level administrative positions in private universities after retiring from public service.
“It is like an arms race, where private institutions try to ‘grab’ officials as soon as they leave office, because so doing gives them an advantage in competing for ministry subsidies,” Chen said, adding that the retired officials use their personal relations and knowledge of ministry workings to help universities apply for subsidies.
Nanhua University applied sociology professor and union member Chou Ping (周平) said that retired officials who take high-level positions at private universities could receive monthly salaries of more than NT$200,000 when their pensions are taken into account.
Union members said the high salaries given to former officials affect scholarships by serving to “crowd out” jobs for young faculty at a time when private institutions face contractions caused by falling student numbers after years of low birthrates.
“The reason they are hired is not because their scholarship is at all impressive — they are just people who have been officials and what they bring to schools is their social ties,” Chen said, adding that such transfers compromise the transparency and fairness of ministry reviews of university performance.
While the Civil Servant Services Act (公務員服務法) forbids former officials from taking high-level administrative positions in “profit-making enterprises” within three years of leaving government roles, Ministry of Education officials benefit from a “loophole” in the law, which classifies private universities as non-profit organizations, Chen said.
He added that even if officials are allowed to take certain positions in private institutions, they should not be allowed to receive their pension simultaneously, as a substantial portion of private university salaries are funded by government subsidies.
Measures have been taken to minimize damage from Chinese espionage, the Ministry of National Defense said on Monday, in response to an alleged plan to deliver a Chinook helicopter to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. The Chinese-language CTWANT magazine earlier in the day reported that a lieutenant colonel surnamed Hsieh (謝) was approached by Chinese officers with an offer to evacuate his family to Thailand in the event of a cross-strait conflict. In exchange, Hsieh was asked to fly a CH-47F Chinook helicopter to a Chinese aircraft carrier in the Taiwan Strait, the magazine said. Hsieh initially declined, but accepted after he was
SAFETY IN REGULATION: The proposal states that Chiayi should assess whether it is viable to establish such a district and draft rules to protect clients and sex workers The Chiayi City Council passed a motion yesterday to assess the viability of establishing a regulated red-light district. The council yesterday held its last session of the year, at which its fiscal 2024 budget was approved, along with 61 other proposals. The proposal to assess the viability of establishing a red-light district was put forward by independent Chiayi City Councilor Molly Yen (顏色不分藍綠支持性專區顏色田慎節). The proposal cited 2011 amendments to the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法), which stipulate that city and county governments can pass autonomous regulations on the sex trade to manage the industry and guarantee industry workers’ rights. A ban on the
STABILITY AND CHANGE: Flagging in recent polls, Ko this week pledged to maintain President Tsai’s foreign policy, with an emphasis on improving China relations Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday reiterated that he is “deep-green at heart” in response to accusations that he is pivoting his campaign to align closer with the ideology of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the face of flagging polls. Ko made the remark at an agricultural policy conference in Taipei, repeating his comments from an interview with CTS News a day earlier. Ko told the CTS host that he would continue to pursue President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) national defense and foreign policy in general, but with an emphasis on establishing a rapport with
CHINA illness surge: Of 88 travelers from China, Hong Kong and Macau with respiratory symptoms who were encouraged to get tested upon arrival, 70.6% had the flu Two hundred and sixty people with COVID-19 were hospitalized and 31 deaths related to the virus were reported last week — the highest numbers in four weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, adding that cases are expected to peak next month. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said that of the 260 people hospitalized last week with moderate to severe COVID-19, 98 percent had not received the Omicron XBB.1.5-adapted COVID-19 vaccine. Among the people hospitalized this year, 78 percent were aged 65 or older, while most of the those who were hospitalized or died have or had
RSS