An Aboriginal teachers’ union yesterday called for compulsory native-language education for all grades, in response to new curriculum guidelines that only mandate such classes until the ninth grade.
The Ministry of Education in a curriculum meeting on Saturday decided to make classes in “national languages” compulsory once per week for seventh and eighth-graders, after which it would become elective, although schools must still offer at least one class per week.
According to Article 9 of the Development of National Languages Act (國家語言發展法), national-language classes are required “at all stages of compulsory education.”
Photo: CNA
The ministry has said that Aboriginal languages are at risk of disappearing, yet has decided not to require them in the secondary-school curriculum, Save Compulsory Ethnic-Language Secondary Education Aboriginal Teachers’ Union representative Yu Nien-hua (余年華) told a news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.
This not only risks disrupting educational continuity, but would also make basic implementation more difficult, Yu said.
Teaching quality and materials for seventh and eighth-graders would also suffer as a result, he added.
The ministry should cover all training costs of full-time native-language teachers to resolve the issue of a shortage of teachers instructing such languages, he said.
It should also finance and provide guidance for those looking to publish native-language educational materials, so that teachers could have more sources to draw upon, Yu added.
Lastly, it should clarify the wording in the act to specify “at every level and every grade,” as the current text intends, he said.
Aboriginal languages are facing extinction, yet are being ignobly sacrificed in national policy for the sake of capitalism and credentialism, union representative Pai Hui-lan (白惠蘭) said.
Aboriginal languages, Hakka and Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese) are all “national languages,” Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Sra Kacaw (鄭天財) said.
The act clearly stipulates that national-language classes must be compulsory at all levels, making the ministry’s decision brazenly illegal, he said.
Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) later yesterday said that the decision fully accords with the act and vowed to prepare all necessary teachers and materials before its implementation next year.
In response to the group’s requests, Pan said that local governments can already provide funding for native-language courses, while the ministry offers teacher training.
As for educational materials, he said that the ministry edits secondary-level texts for Aboriginal languages and offers financial assistance to local Aboriginal resource centers to develop new material.
However, the ministry would continue to encourage the development of textbooks to diversify available offerings, he added.
In its resolution, the curriculum committee also decided to amend the act to categorize national languages as “ministry-mandated curriculum,” Pan added.
Additional reporting by Rachel Lin
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today said that if South Korea does not reply appropriately to its request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, it would take corresponding measures to alter how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. The ministry said that it changed the nationality for South Koreans on Taiwan’s Alien Resident Certificates from “Korea” to “South Korea” on March 1, in a gesture of goodwill and based on the
Taiwanese officials were shown the first of 66 F-16V fighter jets purchased by Taiwan from the United States, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, adding the aircraft has completed an initial flight test and is expected to be delivered later this year. A delegation led by Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) visited Lockheed Martin’s F-16 C/D Block 70 (also known as F-16V) assembly line in South Carolina on March 16 to view the aircraft. The jet will undergo a final acceptance flight in the US before being delivered to Taiwan, the
The New Taipei Metro's Sanyin Line and the eastern extension of the Taipei Metro's Tamsui-Xinyi Line (Red Line) are scheduled to begin operations in June, the National Development Council said today. The Red Line, which terminates at Xiangshan Station, would be connected by the 1.4km extension to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, while the Sanyin Line would link New Taipei City's Tucheng and Yingge stations via Sanxia District (三峽). The council gave the updates at a council meeting reviewing progress on public construction projects for this year. Taiwan's annual public infrastructure budget would remain at NT$800 billion (US$25.08 billion), with NT$97.3
RSS