The National Federation of Teachers’ Unions (NFTU) and the Taiwan Higher Education Union yesterday said that the Executive Yuan’s draft of a proposed act to regulate the closure of private senior-high schools, universities and colleges would mean less oversight of targeted schools by the government.
The Executive Yuan’s version of the proposed act has raised many questions since it was released on Nov. 19, the federation and union said in a statement.
Compared with a draft published in April by the Ministry of Education, the Executive Yuan’s version would mean looser supervision of schools that officials regard as needing special guidance, they said.
Photo: CNA
The Executive Yuan’s version would allow the legally liable person at such schools to submit within three years an application for a restructuring of the school, a merger with another school, or a closure of the school with the intent to open another business in education, culture or social welfare, they said.
This is different from the ministry’s version, which states that if the school is not improved in line with the guidance received, a board of directors who has the public’s interests in mind would be appointed to supervise the school’s closure, to take place in one year, and the donation of the property to the public, they added.
The Executive Yuan’s version would allow those legally liable for private schools to avoid the appointment of a board and the donation of property by “clearing out” the students and teachers within three years and applying for a restructuring, merger or closure, they said.
The Executive Yuan’s version “deliberately creates a loophole” for private schools to plan to profit from a restructuring, merger or reorganization, they added.
The ministry’s version states that officials should assign two to four directors who support the public’s interests to the board, while the Executive Yuan’s version only states that up to three full-time faculty members should be assigned by officials to serve as board members, they said.
Federation and union members said that they wondered what happened in between the release of the two drafts, calling on lawmakers across party lines to safeguard the public’s educational resources.
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