Mergers planned as student numbers drop

Taipei Times 03 April 2015

The Ministry of Education outlined plans late last month to merge universities, as the number of students has been on the decline. The ministry estimates that student numbers will drop by a third by 2023 after years of low birth rates, putting tremendous pressure on universities and colleges as revenue drops, writes Abraham Gerber for Taipei Times.

“Low fertility rates are an unavoidable reality,” Deputy Minister of Education Chen Der-hwa said. Chen said the ministry would seek to cope with this reality by making “more effective” use of educational resources, while protecting the interests of teachers and students in the universities affected.

The ministry plans call for cutting college enrolment quotas by 40% by 2023, while encouraging mergers. If a university fails to fill 70% of its enrolment quota for two consecutive years, the quota will be automatically cut, Chen said. Subsidies would be offered to give universities an incentive to cut their enrolment quotas, he said.
Full report on the Taipei Times site

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