Tue, May 17, 2016 page4

• Change university boards, NFTU urges

  FREE-FOR-ALL? ‘Shady dealings and corruption’ and a lack of transparency allow ‘vultures’ to ‘hollow out’ many failing private universities, the teachers’ union warned

  • By Abraham Gerber / Staff Reporter
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  Private universities should be required to include public interest and labor advocates on their boards of directors to prevent illicit asset transfers as many schools face closures or mergers, the National Federation of Teachers’ Unions (NFTU) said yesterday.

  About 20 NFTU members gathered outside the Legislative Yuan, shouting for “vultures” to be removed from university campuses as hearings were held on possible revisions to the Private School Act (私校法).

  The union also called for cutting the proportion of donor relatives allowed on boards from one-third to one-fifth, publishing board meeting minutes and forbidding board members from sending representatives to board meetings in lieu of personal attendance.

  

  Members of the National Federation of Teachers’ Unions demonstrate outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday, holding placards criticizing what they called the “gutting” of private school assets by “vultures.”

  Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times

  “When we look at the shady dealings and corruption which have gone on at private universities, it is clear that the current law is too loose and allows them to operate opaquely,” NFTU vocational and trade schools committee chairman Yu Jung-hui (尤榮輝) said, referencing a number of scandals that have hit the sector, including kickbacks on school lunches, sales of board seats and diplomas and the illicit “hollowing out” of school assets to line the pockets of board directors.

  “All that we are aiming at with these measures is transparency,” NFTU president Chang Hsu-cheng (張旭政) said. “Our demand is simple — we want to normalize the operation of universities and ensure that there will not be any more ‘vultures’ on campuses.”

  “Even if public interest and labor advocates on university boards might not be able to entirely prevent the ‘hollowing out’ of schools, they would definitely greatly reduce the frequency and extent of the practice,” he said, adding that the measure would serve as an intermediate step to preserve the assets of failing schools prior to government takeover.

  Substantial closures and mergers are expected in the near future because of falling student numbers as a result of low birth rates.

  Unions say that the assets of failed private universities should be liquidated by the government and reinvested in education, because the original private donations were intended for educational use, while many schools were built on cheaply acquired public land and have received substantial government subsidies.

  “There would be a huge difference between the oversight of public interest and labor directors and that currently provided by the Ministry of Education,” Chang said. “When looking at a purchase, a director could determine whether the price was reasonable, while the ministry today only looks at whether the purchasing process was legal.”

  Kick-backs from overpriced contracts are a key means to illicitly “hollow out” school assets, he said, adding that most directors boast close ties to donors and their families, creating a temptation to look after donors’ interests at the expense of the university.

  NFTU organization department head Hsu You-jen (許又仁) said it it is currently almost impossible for the union to gain access to board meeting minutes because they are not even available to the executive boards charged with running everyday school operations.
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