The Executive Yuan has approved the Ministry of Education's (MOE) Second Phase of Restructuring Technological and Vocational Education (2013-2017), Premier Jiang Yi-huah stated today.
The five-year, NT$20 billion (US$665.6 million) plan will focus on three major aspects—system adjustment, curriculum revitalization and employment—along with nine major strategies to help vocational school, junior college, and technical college and university graduates to acquire the skills needed for immediate employment and serve as the high-quality work force needed by industries.
"Since taking up the premiership, I have placed special emphasis on developing vocational and technological education and have discussed reinstituting Taiwan's outstanding tradition in these areas with MOE Minister Chiang Wei-ling on numerous occasions," the premier said.
Jiang made these remarks while visiting the Chung Shan Industrial & Commercial School (CSIC) and Cheng Shiu University to extend his concern for technological and vocational education development. At Cheng Shiu University, he chaired a symposium on enhancing the link between the industrial and academic sectors in order to reduce the disparity between the knowledge taught in academia and the practical skills needed by businesses. Participants of the symposium included Cheng Shiu alumni as well as representatives from Kaohsiung City's and Pingtung County's basic industry firms and other technical colleges and universities.
"Vocational and technological education form a major link in the nation's education system and have played a key role in Taiwan's economic development," the premier stated during the symposium. However, previous education reforms, which ushered in widespread establishment of high schools and universities, caused the disappearance of vocational schools and technical colleges and universities with unique specialties, thus resulting in the present discrepancy between learning and application and youth unemployment problems, he noted.
Jiang pointed out that he came to politics from the academic sector and is therefore highly concerned about educational outcomes. "College graduates must not only equip themselves with character, knowledge, physical health and good judgment; they must also be able to apply their learning in their careers," he advised. "Currently, a great discrepancy exists between the nation's educational training and industrial demand. If this issue is not resolved, it will affect our future economic development."
Noting there are several policy directions that can be taken to minimize this discrepancy, the premier enjoined the National Development Council and the Ministry of Economic Affairs to understand the needs of industries and take inventory of their projected manpower requirements for the next 10 to 20 years. The MOE should then adjust the number of teachers and students of different disciplines accordingly to gradually close the gap, Jiang instructed.
"The pedagogy of vocational and technical schools and teachers should be practical in orientation," the premier said. "The number of academic publications produced should not be the only criteria in evaluating the performance of schools and teachers. Teachers' concern for their students and the improvement of pedagogic facilities could also be criteria for evaluation."
Besides strengthening students' practical skills and cultivating their specialties, schools should provide them life counseling and moral education, the premier added.
"Faultlines in Taiwan's vocational and technological education have emerged, and this is the crucial moment for rebuilding," Jiang emphasized.
Of the Second Phase of Restructuring Technological and Vocational Education's NT$20 billion (US$665.6 million) budget, NT$8 billion (US$266.2 million) would be spent on equipment and capital investment.
The goals of the plan include surpassing the following benchmarks in 2017: a 60-percent increase in the number of vocational school students participating in internships and industry observation; at least 60 percent of technical college and university faculty having practical industry experience and over 60 percent of these schools' students having internship experience; and an annual rise of 10 percent in the number of vocational and technical school students who have attained professional licenses needed by industries. Moreover, the employment rate of graduates of technical colleges and universities' "industrial institutes" is expected to reach 80 percent.
Jiang hopes that the strategy of integrating education, examination, training, and application of knowledge at work can gradually gather the momentum for fostering manpower that meets the needs of Taiwan businesses, narrow the gap between learning and application, and lead to another boom in Taiwan's technological and vocational education.