The Taiwan Higher Education Union yesterday hailed a ruling by the Miaoli District Court appointing a teacher and a union member as Asia-Pacific Institute of Creativity interim board members, saying it established an important precedent for universities and colleges facing closure.
In the ruling, the court called the Ministry of Education’s handling of institute’s closure crisis “irresponsible” and selected six interim board members after consulting with unions instead of accepting candidates recommended by the ministry.
“The ruling represents a major breakthrough for cases where a private university or college is controlled by an irresponsible board and the ministry either fails to properly intervene or continues to select the same board members,” the union said, adding that “allowing a teacher from the school and a union member to partake in decisionmaking” was the correct move.
After security services firm Yi-shen Group took over the institute in August 2016, the board has been trying to close it by forcing students to transfer and illegally cutting teachers’ pay, said lecturer Huang Hui-chih (黃惠芝), who was one of the interim board members that the court appointed.
Within two years, student numbers fell from nearly 3,000 to four and only 20 teachers remain, Huang said.
“The most ridiculous part was how the ministry was helping the board to get rid of all the teachers and students,” she said.
“When students asked the ministry to ensure their rights to complete classes, it was not only unhelpful, but asked them to transfer,” she said.
Three board members in June decided to close the school and selected four new board members after six resigned, a court document said.
Both decisions were illegal, because important board decisions must be made with at least two-thirds of board members present — which in that situation required six — according to education regulations, the court said.
To allow the board to operate legally, the ministry recommended nine candidates as additional board members, including the same members who had been illegally selected and several others who the court said were clearly unqualified to run the institute, the court said.
The ministry argued that expertise is not required, as the institute was to close, the court said, adding that the decision was illegal and the ministry was “irresponsible” in its handling of the situation.
After rejecting the ministry’s request that its recommended candidates be added, the court asked unions for recommendations and six interim board members were selected.
The institute is a classic example of what many private-education establishments might encounter if a draft bill to encourage private colleges and universities to transform into cultural or social welfare institutions is passed, said union secretary-general Chen Cheng-liang (陳政亮), who has also been appointed an interim board member.
Hopefully, the institute’s case would establish a positive precedent for private institutions facing closure, Chen said.
“We would work to ensure that the rights of faculty members and students are protected, and that public assets remain public” even if the institute is to be transformed into a cultural or social welfare entity,” he said.
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