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Hawking a 7-Eleven university education

 
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romanworld



Joined: 27 May 2008
Posts: 388

PostPosted: Tue Dec 22, 2015 4:50 pm    Post subject: Hawking a 7-Eleven university education Reply with quote

If you were a university professor, what would you do if your students kept playing with their smartphones or tablets in class? Assistant professor Lin Wan-hua (林婉華) banned their use. And guess what? She was almost fired by Da-Yeh University (大葉大學) in Changhua County, where she has taught English at its International Language Center for 14 years.

STUDENTS AS CUSTOMERS
After banning electronic devices, Lin got into an argument with a student who refused to turn off his smartphone. The student later filed a complaint to the university. Surprisingly, the school allegedly threatened to dismiss Lin over the dispute.
According to a report in the Apple Daily (蘋果日報), the university told Lin not to return [for work] next week and give back her letter of appointment voluntarily. “Student satisfaction is our concern,” the school reportedly told her when suggesting that she resign.
The university apologized to Lin after she filed a complaint with the Taiwan Higher Education Union (高教工會), claiming that it did not force her to resign. Although the case came to an end on the surface, it highlighted a serious problem in Taiwan’s higher education.
“More and more universities are seeking profit, as if they are operating department stores, treating students as their customers and educators as their salespeople,” said professor Kuo Li-an (郭麗安) of National Changhua University of Education (彰師大), adding that having to ingratiate oneself with students can curb a teacher’s ideals and enthusiasm.
“Is this the kind of higher education that we want?” she asked, stressing that the Ministry of Education (MOE) should rein in the practice by setting up evaluations for universities.

THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT
The cause of the problem is obvious: there are too many colleges and universities competing for too few students. No wonder most schools are treating students as customers.
Given this situation, more and more teachers are forced to curry favor with students to keep their jobs — because “the customer is always right.” Not to mention that their performance is directly graded by those picky “customers” at the end of each semester.
The problem originated in the 1990s under then president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), as the Cabinet’s Education Reform Committee (教改會), led by then Academia Sinica president Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲), urged the government to establish more universities because it was thought that this would boost the overall quality of Taiwan’s labor force. Politicians jumped on board because it attracted votes.
The situation got out of hand when then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) realized the campaign promise that there would be “one [public] university for each city and county” (一縣一大學). By 2007, the number of universities had ballooned to 164.
Today, there are still 159 universities in this country of 23 million, including graduate institutes offering 851 doctoral programs as well as 3,334 master’s programs. Some people joke that Taiwan has almost as many graduate programs as convenience stores.
And with the birthrate declining, some schools have barely been able to recruit enough students. Two private universities closed last year, and at least one is slated to close this year.

THE MOE’S PLAN
To prevent the situation from getting worse, the MOE proposed the Higher Education Innovative Transformation Program (高等教育創新轉型方案) on March 27, planning to merge or close eight to 12 of the 51 public universities and 20 to 40 of the 108 private universities in the nation by 2023.
To achieve this, four strategies were drawn up: forcing under-performing universities to close down, introducing teachers into other domains or industries, encouraging schools to develop their own characteristics and promoting school cooperation to integrate educational resources. However, the success of the program lies in whether the MOE can effectively implement it.
For example, the MOE’s policy is expected to throw as many as 11,000 full-time and countless part-time university professors into unemployment in the next few years. Despite the ministry’s promise to protect teachers’ rights, some private universities are already firing teachers.
A group of laid-off teachers staged a protest in front of the MOE in mid-January, accusing Yu Da University of Science and Technology (育達科大) in Miaoli County of illegally firing over a dozen senior teachers to save costs when two departments stopped recruiting students last year.
“Many of the laid-off faculty were named outstanding teachers in the past, but the MOE directly approved the school’s dismissal plan without reviewing our performance,” said Hu Kuei-ling (胡桂玲), a lecturer who was dismissed after teaching at the school’s Department of International Business for over 14 years when it suddenly stopped recruiting students last year.
According to Article 15 of the Teachers’ Act (教師法), when dealing with a course or organizational adjustment, the “school or the authorized educational authorities will first help transfer those qualified teachers who would like to continue teaching or have other suitable work.”
But the university simply fired Hu and other full-time teachers while hiring part-time teachers to save money. The protesters said that the school did not even hold any teacher’s review committee meeting as required by law.

PROTECTING TEACHERS’ RIGHTS
Although the MOE promised to hold a meeting with school and teacher representatives in July last year, it failed to keep its promise and rashly approved the school’s dismissal plan in January this year. None of the teachers had a chance to defend him or herself.
The Taiwan Higher Education Union criticized the MOE for acting like an “accomplice” for schools by approving the flawed and illegal dismissal plan.
Encouraged by the government’s higher education policy in the past, many great talents studied hard to earn their doctoral degrees and then devoted themselves to their schools and students wholeheartedly. Unfortunately, the MOE plans to close down dozens of universities in the next few years, and Taiwan’s higher education crisis is about to explode soon.
The MOE should protect the rights of schools and students. But it shouldn’t be at the expense of teacher’s rights. More substantial action must be taken to prevent unjust dismissals from occurring in the future.


http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2015/04/26/2003616802/2
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Shakey



Joined: 29 Aug 2014
Posts: 199

PostPosted: Sat Jan 02, 2016 1:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The lunatics are running the asylum.

With the sharp drop in 18 year olds, universities have come to the stark realization that they need the students more than the students need them.

Entrance examinations have become a mere formality, with many schools having a 100% enrollment policy.

It's happening in Japan and Korea, too.
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romanworld



Joined: 27 May 2008
Posts: 388

PostPosted: Sun Jan 03, 2016 1:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Shakey wrote:
The lunatics are running the asylum.


Yes, the MOE is full of 'em and it's damned scary. They're on the Titanic and can't see the icebergs up ahead.
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daryl_ks



Joined: 23 Jun 2014
Posts: 23

PostPosted: Tue Jan 05, 2016 7:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Scary...

Saw it years ago through a friend who taught at a junior high school. One student intentionally set fire to the science lab and hardly anything was said...

I just left (after 15 years on the island) but its gonna be scary to see what happens with this population crunch as it rolls through. What's the answer? immigration?
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romanworld



Joined: 27 May 2008
Posts: 388

PostPosted: Tue Jan 05, 2016 5:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

daryl_ks wrote:
What's the answer? immigration?


This definitely isn't the answer. Most educated Taiwanese want to get out of Taiwan and head for greener pastures where they can make more money and improve their careers. Many of course just bop over to China. In the past, many Mainland Chinese wanted to 'get out' of China and move to prosperous Taiwan but now the tables have turned. Taiwan is desperate to conscript Chinese students into their universities but the Chinese have better universities in their own country now so why bother with Taiwan. Also, a degree from a Taiwanese university has no value in the market place, so if Chinese students can't make it into their own prestigious schools, they'd rather travel overseas for a western education. These days Taiwan is left dredging the rice paddies of SE Asia in its desperate search to fill its dwindling universities with students.


Last edited by romanworld on Tue Jan 05, 2016 11:28 pm; edited 1 time in total
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daryl_ks



Joined: 23 Jun 2014
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 05, 2016 7:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

So if not that, then what?

Would you say that the current problems in education are more broadly linked to even wider issues? like the economy?
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romanworld



Joined: 27 May 2008
Posts: 388

PostPosted: Tue Jan 05, 2016 11:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

daryl_ks wrote:
So if not that, then what?

Would you say that the current problems in education are more broadly linked to even wider issues? like the economy?


The main problem is that there are too many universities and too few students to enable those universities to survive. And the reason there are too few students is because Taiwanese women, like many newly empowered women in Asia, are choosing their own careers over family. I spent almost a decade in Taiwan and one thing that struck me when I was there was the fact that young women had absolutely no interest in getting married and having kids. Many found that kind of lifestyle old fashioned and oppressive and wanted nothing to do with it, preferring instead to open their own coffee shop or get an education overseas. The major problem in Taiwan, therefore, is demographic, but there is also another issue and that is the cost of raising a family. Many Taiwanese (men and) women worry about having children because their salaries are too meagre to start a family. Taiwan is not as cheap as is often made out. Very few, for example, are able to buy their own homes outright and are forced to stay at home with their parents. Even renting is out of reach for most young Taiwanese, especially in a city like Taipei.

So, the issue is that Taiwan is not producing enough newborns and this will have dire consequences in the not too distant future. Like many Asian countries, Taiwan has an aging population so there won't be enough young people paying taxes to support the aged across the island. In short, the island is up shit creek without a paddle. Like South Korea, that is also having similar problems to Taiwan with falling birthrates and an aging population, the question on everyone's lips is: When will Taiwan and its people become extinct?

http://uk.businessinsider.com/south-koreans-could-be-extinct-by-2750-2015-6?r=US&IR=T
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daryl_ks



Joined: 23 Jun 2014
Posts: 23

PostPosted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 9:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Interesting that the business insider article states that increased immigration would be 'good news' for South Korea.

It also states that foreign brides married to locals have higher birth rates. Wonder if the same is true in Taiwan?

It is, however, quite a conundrum.... People need to have more babies, but can't afford to have more babies... And if they don't have more babies, how will the economy /labor force move into a position where people have sufficient $$$?
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romanworld



Joined: 27 May 2008
Posts: 388

PostPosted: Thu Jan 07, 2016 12:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

daryl_ks wrote:
It is, however, quite a conundrum.... People need to have more babies, but can't afford to have more babies... And if they don't have more babies, how will the economy /labor force move into a position where people have sufficient $$$?


Yep, it's a catch 22 and I see no way out for Taiwan. Banks are a good barometer of a nation's economic welfare and base their investment decisions on future outlooks. The British bank Barclays has just announced that it will cut the workforce in Taiwan(and South Korea) and downsize operations and focus on the lucrative Hong Kong market. Anyone with any insight into the economics of the region would not be surprised at this news.

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/business/2016/01/07/455404/Barclays-decision.htm
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