Thge curriculum guidelines introduced by the government in 2019 has led to “learning fatigue” in children, the Child Welfare League Foundation said on Sunday, citing a recent survey.
The league announced its findings at a news conference Sunday to report on the academic progress of Taiwan’s students this year.
The survey suggests that 60 percent of the nation’s children are enrolled in after-school cram schools, the foundation said, adding that the number could be higher than 70 percent in cities.
Photo: CNA
About a quarter of students attend cram schools more than five days a week, with about 60 percent staying at their institutions until 9pm; and 20 percent attending classes until well after 10pm.
Considering that an average student takes two hours for study at home, those enrolled in cram schools could be doing school work for more than 10 hours learning a day — longer than most adults’ working hours.
The foundation said the survey results indicate that more than 93 percent of children sleep less than eight hours a day due to the amount of studying, while about 37 percent get five to six hours’ sleep a day, it said.
With so much time studying and too little sleep, students in Taiwan average only one hour of exercise a week, it said.
Moreover, the main source of stress observed in Taiwanese students comes from the high number of quizzes and tests in a standard week in both schools and cram schools.
On junior and senior high-school students specifically, league official Huang Yun-hsuan (黃韻璇) said that based on the foundation’s findings, the two main sources of students’ stress come from school work and worrying about their future.
The foundation attributed the problems to the “Curriculum Guidelines for 12-Year Basic Education,” officially introduced in 2019.
The foundation said the education plan’s aim was to provide a greater variety of classes for students to design their own curriculum.
Huang said the league’s latest statistics reveal there is still an excessive amount of cram school programs and tests, an on-going phenomenon observed around Taiwan — the focal point of students’ learning fatigue.
The government should re-examine extracurricular activities and curricula to provide students with a more well-rounded education, Huang said, adding that the 12-year plan is clearly unable to help the needs of Taiwan’s students.
With the survey showing that almost 60 percent of students are uncertain about their future prospects, Huang urged parents to pay more attention to their children’s physical and mental well-being, adding that the future achievements of Taiwan’s children should no longer be measured based on grades and diplomas.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS