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Parents slam Hau over
exam U-turn
LEARNING A LESSON: A New Party councilor said
the rules had been broken and principles violated and that the Hau
administration should take full responsibility
By Mo Yan-chih / Staff Reporter
Taipei City’s change of policy on the tri-city high school entrance exams failed
to end the controversy over its problematic admissions process as a group of
parents yesterday slammed Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) for sacrificing the
rights of students with his latest decision to allow new admissions.
In a move to calm the furor from students and parents over the controversial
process, Hau on Tuesday announced that students who were not satisfied with the
application process could reapply on the Internet, with the city’s Department of
Education opening up more than 2,200 vacancies for new admissions.
A group of parents, accompanied by New Party Taipei City Councilor Wang Hong-wei
(王鴻薇), protested against the policy change yesterday, saying the new process was
further damaging their children.
A mother surnamed Chang (張) said her daughter decided to take the second joint
high school entrance exam last week after failing the first exam in May and that
the new admissions process was unfair to those who made the effort to
participate in the second exam.
“Hau and the city government said the policy change would make no difference for
students as they have been given a second chance, but that is wrong. It has made
a huge difference to students and parents who need to go through the admissions
process all over again,” she said.
Wang said the city has broken the rules and violated exam principles and that
the Hau administration should take full responsibility for the policy flip-flop.
The tri-city high school exams, which are used in Taipei, New Taipei City (新北市)
and Keelung, were held in May and last week as part of the three cities’
single-textbook policy. They sparked a furor after students complained about the
problematic application process because of “ambiguous admissions thresholds.”
Hau yesterday continued to defend the policy while appearing apologetic in an
interview with the News98 radio station.
“There’s nothing wrong with the policy itself, but the admissions process was
problematic. We are trying to fix the problem with the new admission and it
would be unfair to junior high school students if we change the exam next year,”
he said.
The single-textbook policy was the result of a confrontation between the Hau
administration and then-Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) central government in
2007, when Hau criticized the Ministry of Education’s multiple-textbook policy
and insisted on standardizing textbooks in schools.
When reached by reporters yesterday, Control Yuan member Chao Jung-yao (趙榮耀)
said he would propose to the Educational and Cultural Committee that the case be
investigated. If the proposal passes, the Control Yuan would conduct an
investigation into whether there was any administrative negligence on the part
of Hau and other officials.
Meanwhile, DPP Chairperson presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said the
controversy facing the tri-city high school entrance exams was the result of
local governments disrespecting professionals’ views and their insistence to be
at odds with the central government.
Additional reporting by Chen Hui-ping and Staff Writer
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