New Power Party Executive Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) and a group of Kaohsiung Medical University alumni yesterday said the university’s acting president election was illegal and urged the Ministry of Education to intervene.
The university on Jan. 11 elected National Chiao Tung University professor Jong Yuh-jyh (鐘育志) as its next president, but the ministry on Jan. 30 said that three board members who took part in the election process were unqualified and asked the university to re-elect a president after replacing the members.
“On May 31, the university elected deputy president Yang Chun-yuh (楊俊毓) as acting president, but we believe the election process was illegal,” Kaohsiung Medical University Alumni Association president Lan Chuan-cheng (藍傳盛) said.
Under university regulations, when there is no president, the deputy president, head of student affairs or head of general affairs may be elected acting president, he said.
The university can only elect an acting president once the current president and Yang step down on Saturday, but by then, Yang would not qualify, as he would no longer be the deputy president, Lan said.
School regulations also stipulate that the election of presidents and acting presidents must be scheduled in advance and all board members should be informed at least 10 days prior to the meeting, he said.
However, the university had not informed board members of plans to elect an acting president and the decision to elect Yang was passed in the form of a motion during a meeting, he said.
“If the board is unqualified to elect a president, how is it qualified to elect an acting president? There are many more teachers and students who also think the acting president election contravened the university’s regulations, but they could not come because of their final exams,” he said.
When the university sent an official document about Yang’s appointment to the ministry for approval, the latter merely replied “noted,” he said, adding that the university has interpreted it to its own advantage to mean that the decision has been approved.
“The election has contravened many regulations. The ministry should immediately intervene and make a formal decision about whether to approve the appointment,” Huang said, adding that officials should stop dodging responsibilities by being political.
Asked why the ministry neither approved nor rejected Yang’s appointment, ministry Department of Higher Education Director-General Chu Chun-chang (朱俊彰) said that under the Private School Law (私立學校法), acting president appointments do not need government approval, only presidential appointments do.
Electing Yang as acting president before next month does not contravene the regulations, he said.
Based on his understanding of the law and the university’s regulations, electing an acting president does not require informing board members in advance, he added.
Additional reporting by CNA
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