Educators Critique 30 Years of Policy Reform

Taiwan set out to reform its education system 30 years ago. Now, educators have come together to give the policy overhaul a failing grade.

Transcript

00:0030 years in the making after a protest in 1994 kick-started a movement to reform Taiwan's

00:12education system.

00:15They were calling for all influences of authoritarian rule to be removed from schools, overhauling

00:21everything from school curriculums to teacher qualifications.

00:25Now, 30 years on, a coalition of educators are judging the reform's success.

00:32They're not optimistic.

00:41These educators say Taiwan's top education officials keep changing, leading to inconsistent

00:47policies that negatively impact students' performance.

00:51They say constant changes to courses disrupt students' learning and that the system is

00:56unsustainable.

01:03The educators want a thorough re-evaluation of these reforms and are urging immediate

01:09change.

01:26The education ministry says the reforms aim to motivate students to learn on their own

01:31and not only focus on test scores, to foster well-rounded, lifelong learning.

01:37But three decades on, Taiwan's education system is still looking to receive a passing grade

01:42from the teachers responsible for it.

01:45Alex Chen and Leslie Liao for Taiwan Plus.