STRESSFUL: An unfriendly work environment, a lack of incentives and unreasonable duties are driving education graduates to other vocations, the demonstrators said
Teachers and teachers-in-training yesterday protested in front of the Ministry of Education in Taipei, saying that frivolous litigation and administrative duties are depriving the education sector of much-needed talent.
National Taiwan Normal University School of Teacher Education joint student council president Chang Yu-chen (張宇宸) said the current environment is unfriendly to teachers and threatens to erode the enthusiasm of future academics.
Administrative duties that have been vacated due to an exodus of qualified staff have fallen onto the shoulders of new teachers or substitutes, Chang said.
An unfriendly work environment, unreasonable duties and a lack of incentives are driving education students and graduates to choose other vocations, he said, urging government action to make education a profession of significance.
National Taiwan Normal University student Lu Shao-yu (呂紹瑜) said that government policies, such as opening school sports equipment to the public, and demands for elementary and junior-high schools to have the seventh period scheduled for physical education, be used for other activities, arts or courses, show a severe disconnect from the day-to-day workings of educators.
Moreover, a flexible hiring program, which allows people with industry-related experience to take eight credits to qualify for teaching, is very demoralizing for education majors, Lu said.
“We spent our whole lives in the system, and now we are treated like spare tires,” Lu said.
Flexible hiring is a method that grants schools more choices to hire educators, the ministry said, adding that the program sets limits, such as people employed under the program not exceeding one-eighth of all faculty, and that they must undergo an open review first by the school and then the ministry.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chang Ya-lin (張雅琳) said that as a parent of three children, she understands the stress that teachers face, and urged politicians to “restrain themselves” and carefully review a “public complaint” before passing it on to schools to resolve the issue.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko Chih-en (柯志恩) said that increasing confrontations between parents and teachers, as well as the chronic problem of understaffing, are reasons why talented people are shunning the education sector.
KMT Legislator Niu Hsu-ting (牛煦庭) drew attention to the practice of using ill-intentioned complaints and reports against teachers to force those they dislike out of the system.
Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Liu Shu-pin (劉書彬) said teachers are not afraid of more coursework or other matters, but dread government policies that have not fully taken into consideration the plight of teachers and the critically understaffed administrative system at schools.
