National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) has decided to dismiss Chou Tai-ying (周台英), the university’s long-time women’s varsity soccer coach, over her improper handling of blood sampling for research projects involving student athletes.
The university said in a brief statement yesterday that after completing a three-tier, three-level review, the Faculty Evaluation Committee decided to dismiss Chou and banned her from employment as a teacher for four years.
The decision was made during a university-level meeting earlier in the day, with more than half of the 20 attendees voting anonymously in favor of Chou’s dismissal, NTNU said.
Photo: Taipei Times
A report on the decision would soon be submitted to the Ministry of Education for final approval and execution, the university said.
The vote overturned the university’s earlier decision that Chou, an associate professor at the university’s Department of Sport and Kinesiology, be subjected to five disciplinary measures, including a salary freeze.
That earlier decision came despite a recommendation by a committee on campus bullying prevention that Chou be suspended for two years.
Chou, 61, is a former national team player who led Taiwan to three consecutive Asian Cup titles in 1977, 1979 and 1981. She has served as head coach of the university’s women’s soccer team since 2004.
The case first came to light in November last year, when Democratic Progressive Party Chen Pei-yu (陳培瑜) said that an unnamed educator had forced members of NTNU’s women’s soccer team to participate in studies she designed that were approved by the National Science and Technology Council.
The projects, focused on determining the impact of sports apparel and treatment methods on athletes’ recovery, required each player to give three blood samples per day for 14 consecutive days.
Students were told that refusal to participate could cost them course credits required for graduation, Chen said.
The university’s previous decision sparked public outrage and prompted the education ministry to demand that the university hold another review.
Yesterday’s meeting was the final stage of NTNU’s three-tier faculty evaluation process, following reviews at the department and college levels.
The NTNU statement said the committee’s decision considered the unequal power dynamic between Chou and the students, the number of students affected, the physical and psychological harm caused, and the infringement on students’ educational rights.
Other factors included the duration, number and frequency of the bullying, as well as the level of responsibility Chou should bear, it said.
The university confirmed that Chou repeatedly bullied and demeaned students, conducted blood sampling without clearly informing students of its purpose, and failed to obtain their informed consent.
Citing Chou’s own admission that she had instructed senior students without medical licenses to help carry out the blood sampling, NTNU said she had clearly breached regulations.
The outcome could result in Chou, who is soon to turn 62, losing her pension.
The education ministry has said that dismissed faculty members cannot apply for pension benefits.
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