The violent storm of declining birth rate has hit private university campuses the hardest.

The "2022 Private University Presidents Conference" was held a few days ago, and five major declarations were issued, which will be officially written by the government to express the common expectations for Taiwan's higher education.

(Photo courtesy of the Association for the Advancement of Private Colleges and Universities)

[Reporter Lin Xiaoyun/Taipei Report] The storm of declining birth rate is fierce, and it is the most severe impact on private university campuses. The "2022 Private University President Conference" was held a few days ago. More than 80% of the private university presidents across the country attended the conference. The declaration will be formally written by the government to express the common expectation for Taiwan's higher education. Among them, the government and the industry jointly cultivate talents in key national fields such as semiconductors. At present, only national universities should be given opportunities to private schools and not to crack down on private schools. In addition, for those who donate to private schools, the law should be amended to fully recognize the deduction, so as to encourage them to invest in private schools.

President He Mingguo, Chairman of the Association for the Advancement of Private Universities, gave a special speech on "Falling Birthplace, Publicization, and Private School Management." He said that the lack of people in our country will become a more serious and urgent national security problem than the lack of electricity. Private schools Taking care of most disadvantaged students in Taiwanese society with relatively scarce educational resources, as long as the government gives private universities greater autonomy and more equal opportunities to compete, private schools will never lose to public universities.

Please read on...

He Minguo also pointed out that the Ministry of Education's method of adding quotas to public universities and university departments will not solve the problem of job shortages in the semiconductor industry. It will only hinder private schools' long-term investment in engineering departments. Use private universities to reward diversified development, and review the examination and recruitment system and allocation of funds. It is expected that the Ministry of Education will serve as the backing of universities and actively implement university autonomy.

The 5 major declarations include: 1. The government should not distinguish between public and private schools and treat them differently in terms of subsidies for all students, so that students in private schools are discriminated against. Instead, they should distribute according to the standard of students’ household income, and fully support disadvantaged students while taking care of their studies. 2. It is recommended that the government prioritize the budget for achieving fairness goals in the implementation of public plans for higher education, and only plan and implement other competitive plan subsidies when there is surplus funds, and formulate The plan to eliminate the phenomenon of anti-redistribution in higher education, and reverse the phenomenon of anti-public education in higher education.

3. The government should recognize 100% deduction for donations made by individuals or businesses to public schools, and delete Articles 16 and 36 of the Income Tax Law and Article 62 of the Private School Law. For the unfair limitation of fees, if it is believed that the degree of supervision of private schools is insufficient, the relevant agencies should propose possible options for effective supervision, and when the supervision conditions are met, the full amount should be recognized by reference, so as to promote and complete the amendment of the law based on this standard.

4. The student-teacher ratio in public and private schools should not be mistakenly treated equally. The government should urge public universities to strengthen their public welfare missions, encourage the reduction of the student-teacher ratio, and decouple it from private schools; There are still many stakeholders in the colleges and universities, including the boards of directors of private colleges and universities, as well as high school groups and alumni groups that are about to enter the university carrier. The relevant agencies should hold public hearings and research reports on all stakeholder groups.