Abstract

This year's college acceptance rate is estimated at an all time high of 86 percent, corresponding to the call by educational reformists for an establishment en masse of senior high schools, colleges and universities.

Ironically, as the chance of admission to college becomes greater, the number of students who can't afford the tuition increases.

The trend is obviously contrary to what was envisaged by those who advocated in good faith to advance higher education by expanding the number of colleges and universities.

In early 1990s, the government lifted its ban on the number of higher educational institutions, paving the way for massive build up of colleges and universities, upgrading of special junior colleges to four-year colleges, and change of names from polytechnic institutes to polytechnic universities.

Today, the rapid expansion makes public universities complain about the decrease in government allocations, forcing them to make upward adjustment in tuition as a way-out. Private universities also lodge their protest with the government against an unfair distribution of supplementary financial aid.

The problem today lies in the fact that many students can get admitted but can't afford to pay tuition and fees. This vicious cycle of over expansion and rising
tuition has prevented those financially less resourceful students from entering colleges and universities.

President Chen Shui-bian, who himself came from a poor family, disagrees that a high tuition is maintained as a policy in Taiwan. Admittedly the tuition level of Taiwan may be lower as compared to foreign universities, but this does not
justify the irrationality of Taiwan's tuition situation.

When drawing up a college tuition policy, the government must take into consideration such factors as its own financial conditions, the nature and functions of college education, the level of desired educational quality, the cost needed therein, and the ability of the education recipients to shoulder the burden. The most relevant to the public among these factors is the ability to bear the tuition.

As the public are troubled by the high tuition, President Chen is either blurring the focus of the problem or ignorant of the crux of the matter.

In the past when the government was financially more resourceful, it was better equipped to build up a solid foundation for development of higher education. The recent financial difficulties faced by the government, however, have forced the authorities concerned to cut back investment in higher education.

When the college acceptance rate is increasing while the funds for higher education are not growing, the schools have little choice but to raise the tuition.

With the economy remaining sluggish and the educational reforms planned improperly, a "hereditary hierarchy" in educational opportunities is taking form. A look at the background of students reveals that most of those in public universities are from families of higher social status whereas the majority of students in private universities are from families of lower social standing. This phenomenon shows the growing gap between the affluent and the less resourceful.

A recent government report on family incomes indicates that college tuition and fees represent a high percentage in the expendable family budget, which means a heavier burden on the part of low-income families in particular. The ever increasing unemployment rate makes the situation even worse.

The issue of inability to pay for the tuition is not the "patent" of poor families. Rather, it seems to foretell the coming of the age of "collective poverty."

To cure the high tuition problem, tax increase and fund raising from private sectors cannot be a dependable remedy. What the government must do its utmost is to revitalize the economy. When people are becoming affluent, they can naturally afford to pay the tuition.

.....the full text in chinese