High-school enrollment has plummeted by nearly 200,000 students over the past nine years amid a falling birthrate, threatening to close more than 100 private schools over the next five years, Ministry of Education data showed.
The number of high-school students last year was 609,745, compared with 809,188 in 2011, data showed.
The ministry said that the figure is likely to fall even further to 553,000 by 2026.
Despite this decline, the number of schools during the nine-year period increased from 491 to 513, leading to record-low average enrollment.
Public schools enrolled 22.8 percent fewer students over the period, from 1,616 to 1,248 per school.
Private schools were hit particularly hard, shedding nearly half of students from an average of 2,084 per school in 2011 to only 1,104 last year.
By 2026, the ministry expects private-school enrollment to fall below 200,000 from about 230,000 last year, leading it to put more than 30 of the nation’s 212 private schools on its closure risk list.
Union of Private School Educators president Yu Jung-hui (尤榮輝) was even more pessimistic, saying that more than half would face closure within five years.
Over the past few years, 11 private high schools have either closed or stopped enrolling students, the K-12 Education Administration said, adding that most were at least 50 years old.
For example, Chung Hsing and Li Jen high schools in Taipei stopped enrolling students in 2018, while enrollment last year ended at schools in Taipei, New Taipei City, Tainan, Kaohsiung, Chiayi County and Miaoli County, it said.
Wah Chau Commerce and Industry Senior High in Pingtung County closed its doors last year, while Fu Jen Sacred Heart Senior High School in Keelung is to stop accepting students next year, it added.
To better facilitate the closure of poor-performing private schools, the ministry has proposed a bill that has been prioritized for the current legislative session.
Yu said that private schools should use their property to supplement income lost due to low enrollment.
Rural schools are at a greater risk of closure and require more assistance from the ministry, said University of Taipei professor Wu Ching-shan (吳清山), former head of the K-12 Education Administration.
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