TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung on Monday (March 18) declared that schools should be involved in assessing whether at-risk youths can leave juvenile detention or correctional facilities and return to school.
Pan also said the Ministry of Education (MOE) would subsidize the establishment of intermediary educational bases in each county and city to accommodate these at-risk youths.
Kuomintang (KMT) Legislator Ko Chih-en noted that according to the MOE's school security system statistics, there were approximately 27,000 violence and deviant behavior incidents among high school students in 2023 – an average of about 73 incidents per day.
Ko also pointed out 2022 data from Chengjheng High School showing that about 50% of juvenile offenders commit criminal offenses within the first year of leaving correctional facilities.
Thorough assessments are necessary when these youths return to school to determine if it is the best place for them, or if other arrangements should be made, Ko urged.
In response, Pan insisted that the MOE had advocated for inviting schools to participate in probation officer investigations or adjudication processes before these students leave juvenile detention or correctional institutions.
