Fri, Jul 05, 2024 page2

• Cabinet advances school counselors plan

  LOWERING RATIOS: Draft amendments stipulate that student and special-education teacher representatives help organize and promote counseling work at schools

  • By Esme Yeh / Staff writer, with CNA
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  The Cabinet yesterday approved draft amendments to the Student Guidance and Counseling Act (學生輔導法) to add 603 school guidance counselors to elementary and junior-high schools, as well as lower the student-to-faculty ratio for high schools and universities.

  The draft amendments, proposed by the Ministry of Education, would be the first revision to the act in almost a decade, the ministry said.

  The amendments are to increase the school counseling workforce, bolster student counseling center operations, facilitate the ministry’s WISER model for school counseling and transdisciplinary collaboration, safeguard student welfare and enhance on-the-job training for guidance counselors, it said.

  

  Students attend a class in an undated photograph.

  Photo: Liao Hsueh-ju, Taipei Times

  While 603 school guidance counselors would join elementary and junior-high schools nationwide, bringing the total school workforce to 5,942, the workforce at student counseling centers — supervisory agencies for guidance counseling affairs of schools — would be increased by 30 percent with an additional 192 professional guidance counselors, the draft amendments say.

  Elementary schools with 20 or fewer classes are to employ one full-time guidance counselor and those with 21 or more are to add one full-time guidance counselor for every additional 20 classes, they say.

  Junior-high schools with 12 or fewer classes are to employ one full-time guidance counselor and those with 13 or more are to add one for every 12 classes, they say.

  Student counseling centers in each administrative area are to have one full-time professional guidance counselor on staff if they have 20 or fewer subordinate schools, while those with 21 or more are to employ one full-time professional guidance counselor for every 20 schools, they say.

  The draft amendments also require each center to employ one full-time professional guidance counselor for every 4,500 to 5,000 students in their administrative area.

  To protect the welfare of students and enhance counseling services, including for students with special education needs, the amendments stipulate that the centers must include student representatives and special-education teacher representatives to help organize and promote counseling work.

  The ministry may consider special circumstances, such as counseling workload and location, and approve additional staff for centers, as long as their professional counseling staff does not exceed 6 percent of the total guidance counseling workforce in their subordinate schools, the draft amendments say.

  Meanwhile, 216 professional guidance counselors would add to the workforce at universities, as the amendments are to reduce their student-to-faculty ratio from 1,200-1 to 900-1, they say.

  Executive Yuan spokesman Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) quoted Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) as saying that lawmakers have suggested that the ministry calculate the number of additional workforce members and estimated expenditure, and communicate with lawmakers to facilitate the passage of the amendments.
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