Taiwan's TPP Proposes Salary and School Reforms in Hsinchu to Tackle Teacher Shortages

The shortage of teaching personnel in Taiwan has become a focus of societal concern in recent years. According to statistics from the Ministry of Education, teacher vacancies have continued to rise over the past five years, a trend particularly pronounced in remote areas and vocational schools. Heavy workloads and normalized overtime for teachers, combined with a salary structure that fails to keep pace with market adjustments, have led to a brain drain and difficulties in recruiting fresh talent. Today, the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) held a press conference in Hsinchu County, gathering multiple local candidates—including Zhubei mayoral candidate Chiu Chen-yuan—to put forward concrete recommendations regarding education policy, aiming to alleviate the teacher shortage crisis through policy innovation.

The meeting first focused on the teacher salary system. The TPP pointed out that the current teacher salary scale has remained unchanged for years and is disconnected from national minimum wage adjustments. Since the minimum wage was raised to NT$26,400 per month in 2022, starting salaries for teachers have not seen a corresponding increase, leading to a decline in real purchasing power. To prevent an even wider gap between the salary structure and the labor market, the TPP recommended incorporating teacher salaries into a regular review mechanism benchmarked against the minimum wage. Through legislation mandating biennial reviews and adjustments, this would ensure that teacher salaries can adapt to changing economic conditions, thereby mitigating resignations and recruitment difficulties caused by compensation issues.

Secondly, the TPP called for a reevaluation of the necessity of school affairs meetings. Established during the 1999 education reforms as a crucial internal decision-making mechanism, school affairs meetings are responsible for reviewing school budgets, curriculum planning, and teacher recruitment. However, after years of operation, excessive meeting attendance and cumbersome procedures have led to low decision-making efficiency in some schools, with meetings even devolving into mere formalities. The TPP believes that focusing on functionality and effectiveness, the necessity and operational model of school affairs meetings should be reviewed, or consideration should be given to replacing them with a more streamlined decision-making body to enhance the flexibility and transparency of school governance.

Regarding legal support, the TPP also proposed the concept of establishing campus lawyers and legal service mechanisms. In the process of teaching and executing school affairs, teachers frequently encounter legal issues such as labor disputes, campus bullying, and intellectual property rights, yet they lack immediate assistance from professional legal consultants. In the past, only internal administrative personnel or occasional external lawyers intervened, which incurred high costs and lengthy procedures. If dedicated or part-time campus lawyers could be stationed in every school to provide legal consultation, litigation support, and preventative education, it would help reduce the incidence of campus disputes and enhance the protection of rights for both teachers and students.

The introduction of these policy proposals is also closely tied to the TPP's deployment in local elections. Local candidates such as Chiu Chen-yuan are striving to secure the support of grassroots teachers and parents by focusing on educational issues, with the expectation of boosting the party's visibility and vote share in the upcoming local elections. Education policy is frequently a key focus for voters. If the TPP can translate concrete proposals such as teacher salary reviews, the evaluation of school affairs meetings, and campus legal services into legislative or administrative action, it could form a differentiated advantage in party competition and exert pressure on the education policies of other major political parties.

In summary, the root of the teacher shortage lies not only in a lack of personnel but also involves multi-layered factors such as the salary structure, school governance, and legal support. Centering on a "salary review system," the evaluation of school affairs meetings, and a campus lawyer mechanism, the TPP has attempted to provide long-term solutions from a systemic perspective. If the related recommendations are recognized and promoted by the legislature and education competent authorities, the working environment and professional development of teachers are expected to see substantial improvements in the future, which will also elevate overall educational quality and social equity. (Source of facts: Central News Agency)