Taiwan’s Academia Sinica recently published a ‘Higher Education and Technology Policy Advisory Paper’, looking at the country’s current difficulties in human capital, technology development, and economic growth.

The Paper pointed out that the government initiatives of expanding the higher education sector introduced in the late 90’s has resulted in a diminished ground for vocational education institutions. In order to outperform in the government evaluation, many technological universities have diverted to focus on research and publications, leading to an increasingly homogeneous higher education sector.

The expansion of higher education sector also created negative impact on the country’s human capital. As a significant proportion of school leavers seek advanced education at comprehensive universities, there is not sufficient supply of technique-savvy human resources that can support the needs of businesses and industries. On the other hand, the over-supply of university places draws critics over education quality, and the large number of graduates means intensified competition for jobs amongst young people.   

Taiwan’s ageing population also cast challenges to local HEIs. It is estimated that by 2026 the higher education sector will reduce to only 60 per cent of its current size as a result of reduced number of students.

In the Paper, Academia Sinica suggested a number of steps be taken, including:

• strengthened facilitation of institution mergers to enhance efficiency,
• improved university evaluation and assessment systems that cater to the different types of institutions,
• relaxed regulations for HEIs to manage its funding, staffing, accounting, intellectual properties, etc. to increase resource effectiveness.

The paper also urged well-designed initiatives to encourage foreign academics and talents to work and live in Taiwan so as to help the country’s long-term development in industrial transformation and economic growth, reported the Central News Agency and United Daily.