Taiwan ministry of education has revealed that several higher education institutions in Taiwan have failed to attract new students to more than 100 Masters and PhD degree programs available.
The 2019 registration data also mentioned that the country’s most prestigious higher education institutions, such as National Taiwan University (NTU), National Chengchi University, National Tsing Hua University, and National Taiwan Normal University had recorded no new student.
According to the ministry of education, a total of 132 departments at the various colleges have recorded no new registration of Taiwanese students for their Masters or PhD programs in 2019.
The statistics regarding higher education institutions new admission involved mainly Taiwanese citizens, although there is a possibility that international students also took part in some of the programs.
The ministry of education pointed out that while the data looks terrible at first sight, the number of Masters and PhD programs exceed 4,000 nationwide, meaning the 132 that lacked new students only constitute a minority.
Taiwanese authorities also noted that higher education institutions were quite stringent about requirements for enrolment into various programs they offer.
Also stating that some schools had decided to turn down applicants and suspend the programs due to lack of interest to reform them.
Taiwan higher education institutions lowest admission rate in 16 years
The college admission results based on Advanced Subjects Test (AST) scores were released and revealed the lowest admission rate in Taiwan in 16 years.
Huang Sin-fu, the director of the Board of College Recruitment Commission, explained that the low admission rate might have been a result fewer places being left after the previous rounds of applications.
Although there were 4 per cent fewer applicants into higher education institutions compared to last year, the 14 per cent drop in available spots was not enough.
Previously, applicants would, on average, be assigned to their 27th choice, but this year the average student’s 30th choice was the department they were accepted into.
Applicants filled in an average of 60 choices this year, compared to 54 last year, with 18.1 per cent of lists filled out, which indicates that the applicants were more cautious this year.
Ministry of Education encourages summer camps
The Ministry of Education also noted significant progress in Taiwan language summer camps.
The ministry also said that 14,300 students from 595 schools around Taiwan enrolled in this year’s summer language programs, the highest number in five years.
Students were able to gain an insight into their native languages, including Taiwanese, Hakka, and regional dialects used by indigenous communities, during the two- to four-week summer school sessions.
