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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》Universities miss their recruitment targets by 36.83％
A student gestures after finishing the by-subject exams at the Affiliated Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei on July 12. Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
By Rachel Lin, Yang Mien-chieh and Jake Chung / Staff reporters, with staff writer
Twenty-two public and 29 private universities missed their recruitment target by 14,000 students, despite reporting a record acceptance rate of 98.94 percent, the University Admission Committee said on Friday, underscoring the severity of student shortfalls due to declining birthrates.
The committee, in a report on acceptance rates nationwide, said that 25,297 prospective students took entrance exams this year, 9,272 fewer than last year, as universities sought to recruit 39,350 students, but missed their target by 36.83 percent.
In terms of student majors, foreign-language departments made up more than 62 percent of the departments that were unable to meet their recruitment targets, the committee said.
Committee executive secretary and National Cheng Kung University Department of Education Affairs director Tsai Chun-li （蔡群立） said that the number of people taking the new exams had decreased sharply due to declining birthrates.
This year was the first time by-subject exams were administered in lieu of the previous advanced subjects tests. The by-subject test only considers the scores — up to a maximum of 60 points in each subject — in category A mathematics, history, geography, civics, physics, chemistry and biology.
The by-subject test is another option for students seeking to enter a university, with the other option being the General Scholastic Ability Test, which considers examinees’ scores on four out of five subjects, including general Mandarin; written Mandarin; English; category A or B mathematics, or both; social sciences; and the sciences.
The committee said that private universities with established reputations have also been affected by declining enrollment, with Chinese Culture University reporting that it only recruited 257 students, despite having 2,635 available slots.
The Union of Private School Educators and the National Federation of Teachers Unions （NFTU） urged the Ministry of Education to reconsider its policies related to student recruitment.
Union of Private School Educators president Yu Jung-hui （尤榮輝） said that although universities shoulder part of the blame for underestimating the effects of the nation’s declining birthrate, leading to the large discrepancy between actual and expected student numbers, the ministry is also responsible for failing to manage recruitment numbers.
Yu said the ministry should lower the number of students public universities with a low acceptance rate should be allowed to recruit.
With even fewer students expected to enroll in universities in the coming years, the ministry should expedite its plans to close underperforming private schools, NFTU president Hou Chun-liang （侯俊良） said.
Hou said the ministry should work with the public and academics to formulate practical policies regarding the future of Taiwan’s higher-education system.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
Chinese Culture University students throw their graduate caps skyward at a graduation ceremony in Taipei’s Shilin District on June 11. Photo: CNA
