A drop in school enrollment caused by low birthrates led to the closure of 14 educational institutions in Taiwan this year, statistics released by the Ministry of Education showed.
The ministry said that the closed down institutions consisted of nine elementary schools, a junior-high school and four higher-learning schools.
Of the elementary schools, four were in Taoyuan, one in Kaohsiung, one in Nantou County and three in Pingtung County.
Photo: Yang Mien-chieh, Taipei Times
The ministry also cited the building of the Taoyuan Aerotropolis as another reason the four elementary schools in the city closed.
The only junior-high school to close its doors this year was a school in Penghu County.
Meanwhile, the four institutions of higher learning that shut down were Kaohsiung’s Tung Fang Design University, Changhua County’s MingDao University, Chiayi City’s Tatung Institute of Commerce and Technology, and Yunlin County’s TransWorld University.
The four schools ceased taking in new admissions last year, in accordance with the Act Governing the Closure of Private Educational Institutions at Senior Secondary or Higher Level (私立高級中等以上學校退場條例), the ministry said.
At the time of the schools’ enrollment suspension, the universities together employed 428 faculty and staff to service 673 students, it added.
Aside from I-Kuan Tao College in Kaohsiung, no higher-education school is at risk of closure from next year to 2026, the ministry said, adding that the college had applied to close by next year, but the request would still need to be deliberated before it is approved.
Eight high schools stopped accepting admissions this year, so they are likely to close in the a few years, the ministry said.
Data from the Ministry of the Interior in October showed that the nation’s population was 23,404,138 as of September, down 2,470 from August, the ninth consecutive month this year that the nation has reported a drop.
There were 11,792 births in September, or 3.7 births per day, up 149 from August, it said, adding that the monthly birthrate was 6.15 per 1,000 people.
The jurisdictions with the highest birthrates were Yunlin County at 14.62 per 1,000 people, Penghu County at 8.61 per 1,000 and Taoyuan at 7.74 per 1,000, the interior ministry said.
The jurisdictions with the lowest birthrates were Keelung at 3.17 per 1,000, New Taipei City at 3.95 per 1,000 and Chiayi City at 4.13 per 1,000, it added.
There were 97,733 births from January to last month, down from 99,652 in the same period last year, showing that the Year of the Dragon this year has not sparked a baby boom as it has previously, the ministry said.
There were 15,563 deaths in September, or a mortality rate of 8.11 per 1,000 people, it added.
UPGRADE: The Kang Ding-class frigate is replacing its Chaparall missiles with Tien Chien II and Hua Yang VLS, which would provide it with long-range, 360° air defense Taiwan plans to produce 1,200 to 1,376 Hai Chien II missiles (海劍二, Sea Sword II) — also known as TC-2N — to serve as the standard air defense system of the navy’s surface combatant fleet, a source said yesterday. Last week, the Hai Chien II, the naval version of the Tien Kung II missile (天劍二, Sky Sword II), completed a live-fire test in waters off the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology’s Jiupeng facility (九鵬) in Pingtung County’s Manjhou Township (滿州). The MIM72 Chaparral and other dated air defense missiles that currently arm Taiwanese ships have inadequate range to combat Chinese
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
Johanne Liou (劉喬安), a Taiwanese woman who shot to unwanted fame during the Sunflower movement protests in 2014, returned to Taiwan last night after being deported from the US. She is to stand trial in Taiwan for charges involving embezzlement, fraud and drug crimes. The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said it took her into custody at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and would first question her before transferring her to the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. She was arrested upon disembarking a flight from San Francisco that landed shortly before 7pm. Liou absconded to the US in 2019 after jumping bail
Shih Hsin University President Chen Ching-he (陳清河) yesterday issued a public apology for comments made in his commencement speech last week, stating that he has asked the school to suspend his duties and halt his wages for two months as a show of contrition. At the commencement ceremony on May 30, Chen said, “If you don’t manage your time well, or your own emotions, or your health, then I am telling every one of you — put a quick end to ‘you,’ because the world has no need for ‘you.’” The comments have sparked significant controversy online, and Chen through an open
RSS