humanities and social sciences 結果共2筆

In Taiwan, private universities like Tamkang University are merging departments due to declining student numbers and birth rates. Experts question the effectiveness of these mergers while education groups call for government support to maintain teaching quality and protect teacher and student rights.

Taiwan’s Minister of Education, Pan Wen-chung, has announced plans to review universities’ proposals to adjust their departmental structures in February and March next year. Pan emphasized the importance of cultivating talents in the humanities, social sciences, and engineering for the nation’s development, regardless of the current industrial state. Concerns have arisen over the potential closure of Shih Hsin University’s Department of Chinese Literature by the 2025 academic year and rumors of Aletheia University’s Department of Taiwanese Literature ceasing operations. Pan stated that universities have the right to ponder their future development and adjust departments, but changes should be approved by university board meetings and involve adequate communication within university governance. Additionally, the Ministry of Education has launched an initiative allowing university students to earn credits in areas of interest and have them documented in their diplomas. According to the Ministry’s statistics, there were a total of 846 arts and humanities departments among bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs in the 2024 academic year. During the period from 2020 to 2024, 65 new departments were established, 45 stopped recruiting, and nine merged.