Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Yeh Yuan-chih (葉元之) yesterday said he would propose a bill that would mandate each municipality to establish at least one “referral school” with enhanced counseling resources to send problematic students.
The bill aims to “protect the lives and safety of the majority of students and their right to education,” Yeh said in a statement.
A budget would be allocated by the Ministry of Education to set up these “alternative schools” for students exhibiting aggressive behavior to provide relief, and protection for other students and teachers who are unable to handle them, Yeh said.
Photo: CNA
He made the announcement on the two-year anniversary of a teenager’s stabbing death at a junior high school in New Taipei City’s Tucheng District (土城).
On Dec. 25, 2023, a female student surnamed Lin (林) went to another class to talk to her friends, where she got into an argument with a male student surnamed Yang (楊).
Lin solicited the support of a fellow male classmate surnamed Kuo (郭) and several others to argue with Yang.
Kuo then took out a switchblade and stabbed Yang several times in the chest and neck, killing him.
The New Taipei City juvenile court in October last year found Kuo and Lin guilty of murder, and handed them nine-year and eight-year prison terms respectively.
After an appeal, the High Court earlier this week upheld the conviction, and increased the sentences to 12 years and 11 years respectively.
“We have seen more frequent incidents in recent years of students assaulting teachers and beating up fellow students,” Yeh said.
“Teachers are gradually losing their authority, and are unable to rein in problem students,” he added.
“Schools cannot deal with these problem students and are unable to remove them from the classroom, even those already reprimanded with 10 major demerits, which some believe to be ‘badges of honor,’” he added.
Under current rules, schools are required to keep problematic students in their original classes, Yeh said.
The proposed bill would require expert evaluation of students who carry dangerous weapons, frequently practice bullying or physically assault teachers and classmates, and have no positive result after counseling.
“This is not to abandon these teenagers, but to place them into a more suitable learning environment,” he added.
The ministry would collaborate with civil society groups to set up these schools where problem students could continue to receive their education, while they would get funding to have social workers, psychologists, counselors and other professionals for enhanced supervision and personal guidance, Yeh said.
It aims to patch up loopholes in the “school safety net” so that bullying students would not continue to be a “blind spot” that no one dares to handle, he added.
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
The Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau audited six hotels in an effort to prevent price gouging ahead of Korean band BTS’ concert tour in the city scheduled for Nov. 19, 21 and 22 this year. The bureau on Friday said that the audits — conducted in response to allegations of unfair pricing posted on social media — found no wrongdoing. These establishments included the local branches of Chateau de Chine, Hotel Nikko, My Humble House, and Grand Hai Lai, it said, adding that the Consumer Protection Commission would have penalized price gougers had the accusations been substantiated. The bureau said the Tourism Development Act
BACK TO WINTER: A strong continental cold air mass would move south on Tuesday next week, bringing colder temperatures to northern and central Taiwan A tropical depression east of the Philippines could soon be upgraded to be the first tropical storm of this year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the next cold air mass is forecast to arrive on Monday next week. CWA forecaster Cheng Jie-ren (鄭傑仁) said the first tropical depression of this year is over waters east of the Philippines, about 1,867km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), and could strengthen into Tropical Storm Nokaen by early today. The system is moving slowly from northwest to north, and is expected to remain east of the Philippines with little chance of affecting Taiwan,
The military yesterday said it has located the flight data recorder, or black box, of an F-16V jet that disappeared off eastern Taiwan earlier this month, and it would soon deploy a salvage team to try to retrieve it. Air Force Command Headquarters said that while it had pinned down the location of the black box, it was still searching for the aircraft’s sole pilot, air force Captain Hsin Po-yi (辛柏毅). Without providing details, the air force said it had located the black box days after detecting some intermittent signals and would now engage a team of professionals to retrieve it. The air
RSS