The Control Yuan on Tuesday censured the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Taipei Department of Education for lax oversight of cram schools, after some institutions were found to have unlicensed after-school clubs and kindergartens.
The censure was based on an investigation conducted by Control Yuan members Tsai Chung-yi (蔡崇義), Wang Yu-ling (王幼玲) and Chang Chu-fang (張菊芳).
The number of reported cases of children and teenagers being mistreated by cram school teachers rose from 28 in 2018 to 197 in 2019 and 238 in 2020, the Control Yuan said, citing Ministry of Health and Welfare data.
Photo: Lo Pei-te, Taipei Times
The requirements for kindergartens, after-school clubs and cram schools differ in terms of floor space and teacher-student ratio, Wang told a news conference in Taipei.
The requirements for cram schools are lower than for the other two, so most institutions are registered as cram schools, she said.
However, many of them also act as after-school clubs and kindergartens, for which stiffer child protection criteria apply, she said.
The education ministry in 2014 issued a directive that cram schools can also provide snacks to children, let them take a nap, assist with their homework and organize field trips or camps, Tsai said, adding that the policy blurred the boundaries between cram schools, after-school clubs and kindergartens.
The Control Yuan deems the directive improper, as it made inspections at such institutions unnecessarily difficult, he said.
In March, Tsai accompanied Taipei Education Department officials to a visit to a kindergarten in Taipei, which, despite not being licensed, had grown into a nationwide chain, he said.
The operator, only holding a cram school license, largely ignored the results of inspections by the department, Tsai added.
The head of the education department pledged to revoke the chain’s license six years ago, but the business was still running, he said.
Inspections cannot be a mere formality, as it enables businesses to run after-school clubs and kindergartens even though they only have licenses for running a cram school, Chang said.
She called on the education ministry to establish a risk management mechanism targeting high-risk cram schools and thoroughly carry out regular safety inspections.
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