Taiwan's universities, pitches are all.

Public universities, private universities, normal universities, science and technology universities, technical colleges, colleges and universities are dazzling.

　　According to the data of the education department of the Taiwan authorities, starting from 2022, the number of freshman students in Taiwan's colleges and universities will exceed that of high schools, and a "death cross" will appear.

Some trade unions estimate that in the next eight years, more than 6,000 teachers will lose their jobs, and about 40 universities will "retire".

　　Taiwanese higher education is facing the worst crisis of university closures.

Many Taiwanese students and their parents are worried: "Will the university continue to study and then suddenly disappear one day?"

"Low birthrate" tsunami hits students

Schools have vacancies

　　Taiwan had 9,442 births in May this year, the lowest in a single month over the years.

The official report of the Taiwan authorities shows that the number of students at various stages of education is decreasing year by year.

　　The "low birthrate" has severely impacted the source of students. This year, there are more than 10,000 applicants for college admissions in Taiwan, reaching a new high in the past four years.

Even Taiwan University, Hsinchu Tsinghua University and other well-known public universities on the island have more than 100 vacancies, and private schools have even more vacancies.

　　Just in June, the news of the imminent closure of three private universities, Nantou Nankai University of Science and Technology, Yilan Lanyang Institute of Technology, and Tainan Taiwan Capital University came out.

In just three years, 11 private schools in Taiwan have disappeared, or closed, or closed, or changed hands.

　　"Lower birthrate" is no longer news in Taiwan, and schools at all levels are most impressed by it.

After university, regardless of middle school or primary school, the class size is generally getting smaller and smaller, and even in the graduation season, we can see reports about "one-person graduates" in primary and secondary schools.

In the past three years, 9 high schools and vocational schools have closed down.

Taiwan authorities legislate to regulate "exit"

Considered "dishonest" by unions

　　Universities are included in the early warning list by the Ministry of Education for two reasons. One is that the enrollment rate is too low, and the other is financial problems. If the situation is more serious, they will be classified as special counseling schools.

If the situation does not improve within 2 years, it will be ordered to suspend.

　　There are currently more than 40 private universities in Taiwan listed as special counseling, of which more than 70% are technical and vocational schools.

　　In late April this year, the legislature of the Taiwan authorities passed the "Regulations on the Exit of Private Senior High Schools and Above" in the third reading.

But at the same time, the Taiwan Higher Education Union revealed that even if the new law is on the way, the education authority will still allow private schools to “exit” and adopt a dual-track system, that is, the more relaxed old law and the new law are available for private school operators to choose.

As a result, some schools may still resort to unwarranted closures that would hurt students and staff the most.

　　Take the Asia-Pacific Institute of Creative Technology, which was closed in 2019, as an example. So far, the liquidation has not been completed, and the rights and interests of the faculty and staff cannot be guaranteed.

Huang Huizhi, a teacher at the school, said that the malicious suspension of enrollment forced students to transfer schools.

After the students fought against each other many times, the Taiwan "Ministry of Education" did not assist the students, but instead helped the board of directors logically.

"Until now, there are still teachers who are owed wages."

The picture shows the Asia Pacific Institute of Creative Technology, which was closed in 2019.

news images

from most to attend technical school

To "zero points can also go to university"

　　For a long time, the Taiwan authorities invested most of their educational resources in primary and secondary education, and high schools and higher vocational schools mainly relied on private education.

After the 1970s and 1980s, when Taiwan's economy took off, the authorities encouraged the training of technical and vocational talents, and gradually formed an education system with technical occupations as the mainstay and high school as a supplement.

　　With the development of the times, "going to university is more promising than going to college" has become a common concept in Taiwanese society.

In the 1990s, the idea of ​​"building a wide range of universities" became more and more mainstream.

In order to meet the market demand for education, many vocational schools were approved to be upgraded to four-year technical colleges, and then approved to be upgraded to science and technology universities. Since then, the number of universities in Taiwan has increased rapidly.

　　In 1996, Taiwan had 21 universities and 16 colleges.

By 2006, the number of universities and colleges had increased to 97 and 50, respectively.

In the past 10 years, the total number of college students has increased from 330,000 to 960,000.

　　College students are no longer a rare talent in the market.

In 2009, the admission rate of Taiwan's "shikao" (similar to the mainland's college entrance examination) was as high as 97.14%, and in 2016 it reached 99%.

College admissions scores have repeatedly broken new lows.

In 2008, the score was 7.69; in 2019, after the fine-tuning of the examination rules, professional schools of music, art, and physical education can choose not to refer to the scores of the relevant examinations, and students can apply for universities.

Therefore, "zero points can also go to college" has become a fact.

The quality of private schools varies

Public school enrollment is bleak

　　In fact, there has been a long-standing discussion about the uneven quality of education in Taiwan's private universities.

　　According to Taiwan media reports, in order to expand the source of students, some private schools offer scholarships, part-time jobs, and internship opportunities as incentives to attract foreign students to study, but this has caused controversy and even raised "questions about human trafficking."

　　Chen Zhengui, the supervisor of Jingyi University, who has served as the principal of a private college for more than 20 years, said that the crisis in the operation of private schools can be seen from personnel, finance and enrollment, including the arbitrary placement of their own people by the board of directors, hollowing out school properties; or teachers being cut and laid off. Or pay arrears. In recent years, private schools have made bad cases, illegally recruiting foreign students to Taiwan to study abroad and work illegally through intermediaries.

The picture shows the Yilan Lanyang Institute of Technology, which has been announced to be closed.

The school has been losing money for seven consecutive years.

"Central News Agency" picture

　　Taiwan's public schools are also facing difficulties in recruiting students. Some schools have even lowered their standards to "snatch" student resources.

In 2020, there are 121 departments in Taiwan that cannot recruit people, including 79 master and doctoral classes, of which 10 doctoral classes belong to Taiwan's "top universities".

For Taiwan colleges and universities with a high enrollment rate of freshmen in the whole school, the data behind them may not necessarily reflect the real enrollment situation.

Terrestrial reduction adds to the woes

"Quick-Fix" Strategies Don't Help

　　Mainland students used to be a stable source of enrollment in Taiwan's colleges and universities. From 2011 to 2015, the number of Chinese students going to Taiwan increased by 30% to 40% every year; since 2016, the number of Chinese students has continued to decline.

Due to the superposition of various factors, including the new crown pneumonia epidemic and cross-strait relations, the terrestrial pipeline to study in Taiwan has been interrupted for a long time, which has made the survival of many Taiwanese colleges and universities even worse.

　　As for the so-called "new southbound" enrollment that the DPP authorities have advertised for many years, according to Taiwan's "Ministry of Education" data, the actual scale and positive impact are not as impressive as they boast.

In particular, after the number of students in some countries increased significantly in 2017 and 2018, there was a significant decrease in the following academic year, and even in some countries the number of students was less than one-third of the previous year.

The phenomenon of "student-to-student-to-worker" mentioned above also mostly occurs among students who come to Taiwan to study from these countries.

　　Some analysts believe that in the face of the current dilemma of higher education, the DPP authorities mostly adopt "quick-effect" strategies, but do not deeply understand the real dilemma of higher education.

In reviewing the "New Southbound Policy", the authorities are only willing to present superficial data, but selectively ignore the quality of running schools and the substantial contribution to Taiwan's higher education.

　　In the foreseeable future, Taiwan's university admissions will continue to face pressure.

　　Author: Ai Liang