TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan teacher groups on Wednesday urged the government to address school workforce pressures by cutting class sizes, protecting staffing at small schools, and making teacher pay reviews more transparent.
Unions from 12 counties and cities said Taiwan’s declining birthrate should give schools room to move toward smaller classes instead of simply reducing teacher positions, per CNA.
The groups proposed lowering class sizes to 25 students for elementary and junior high schools as part of a phased transition toward 20. Current limits are 29 students per elementary school class and 30 per junior high class, according to the report.
They said smaller classes would help teachers handle student counseling, classroom management, special education needs, and the more varied learning requirements under Taiwan’s curriculum guidelines.
For remote and outlying island schools, falling enrollment creates a different problem. The unions said small schools can lose teacher positions as student numbers drop, leaving remaining staff to teach outside their specialties and take on more administrative work.
The unions called for more flexible staffing rules, including guaranteed minimum teacher numbers, so small schools can still offer courses and fill administrative roles.
Teacher workforce concerns also surfaced Wednesday as lawmakers reviewed draft legislation on pay adjustments for teachers and other public employees, per CNA. The National Federation of Teachers Unions said the review marked progress toward ending an opaque salary-setting system.
National Federation of Teachers Unions Chair Yeh Chin-chi (葉青芪) said the government should allow representatives of teachers and other public-sector employees to take part in pay discussions, per the report. The federation said teacher recruitment and retention have become harder as school workloads increase.
