Crowds rally for justice for dismissed teachers

TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Crowds converged outside the Ministry of Education on Tuesday (Aug. 8) to demand justice for the unjust dismissal of teachers from Yi Ming Senior High School in Hsinchu County.

The protesters, including teachers, students, and parents, voiced their strong objection to the reported wrongful termination of ten educators at the end of July.

The demonstrators also highlighted that the school administration imposed new contracts on 50 additional teachers, resulting in a 5% reduction in their academic research fees. Furthermore, the protesters noted the non-payment of salaries due on Saturday.

Teacher Li Yu-hsin, speaking to reporters, underscored the shortage of manpower at the school, stating, "One teacher at our school serves as 1.2 or close to two people... Because there are almost 3,000 students and [we] have only 91 official teachers."

Initial negotiations between the dismissed teachers and the school on Aug. 3 bore no fruit. Subsequently, a second negotiation occurred three days later, presided over by Hsinchu County Magistrate Yang Wen-ke. However, notable absences included the school principal and board of directors members. The board's rejection of a third negotiation attempt on Aug. 7 followed.

The National Federation of Teachers Union urged the Ministry of Education to dismiss the principal lawfully.

Magistrate Yang issued a three-day ultimatum for the school to remunerate the teachers and a seven-day deadline to convene a temporary school meeting. Furthermore, he emphasized the necessity of sharing the outcomes of the final agreement.

In response, the K-12 Education Administration committed to overseeing the school's hiring processes and subsequent procedures, aligning with the provisions of the Private School Law.