Article 5 Measures to Safeguard Various Rights
be lower than one-third of the total number of teaching positions; the ratio
for junior and senior high schools should not be lower than five percent of
the total teaching positions.95 It is important to note that the 2019 revision
of the Education Act for Indigenous Peoples changed the legally mandated
percentage of teachers with indigenous identities in junior high schools from
one-third to five percent, while elementary schools maintained a 1:3 ratio
of teachers with indigenous identities.96 However, as of the 2019 academic
year, there is still a shortfall of 818 teachers with indigenous identities
compared to the legally mandated standards.97 An overview of the pass rate
for the Preschool to Secondary School Teacher Qualification Examination
from 2012 to 2020 shows that the average pass rate for candidates with
indigenous identities was 30.23%, which was lower than the overall average
pass rate for non-indigenous candidates (56.40%).98 In 2020, only 115
indigenous candidates passed the Preschool to Secondary School Teacher
Qualification Examination. Based on the statistics for that year, it would take
seven years to fill the shortfall of indigenous teachers in schools.
95
Article 34, Paragraph 2 of the Education Act for Indigenous Peoples stipulates,“Within ten years from when this amendment
of the Act comes into force on May 24, 2019, the proportion of teachers with an indigenous identity appointed to teach in
indigenous key schools offering elementary stage education shall not be permitted to be less than one-third of the school’s
teaching staff or to comprise a lower proportion of the teaching staff than the proportion of the school’s total student
population comprised by its indigenous students. The proportion of teachers with an indigenous identity appointed to
teach in indigenous key schools offering junior high school and senior secondary stage education is not permitted to be
96
less than 5% of the teaching personnel at any such school.”
The proportion of junior high school teachers with indigenous identities in indigenous key schools stipulated in the
Education Act for Indigenous Peoples has been revised from one-third to five percent. The stated reason for revising
the regulation is that “the teaching styles in primary schools and secondary education are different. While elementary
schools predominantly have homeroom teachers who teach all courses, junior high schools have different teachers for
different subjects. Hence, it is deemed necessary to separately regulate the ratio of indigenous teachers employed in each
97
educational stage.” Legislative Yuan (2019, Jun 17). Legislative Yuan Official Gazette, Volume 108 Issue 56, 510.
Control Yuan investigation report approved on October 14, 2021, p.18 (110 教 調 0018). According to the investigation report,
“In the 2019 academic year, there were 388 key schools for indigenous students in Taiwan, including 77 primary schools,
47 junior high schools, and 15 high schools. There were a total of 1,651 teaching vacancies, out of which 1,074 teachers
had already been hired, including a total over-hiring of 241 teachers in 95 of those schools. There is still a need to hire 818
98
teachers, including 606 teachers for primary schools, 22 for junior high schools, and 190 for high schools.”
Control Yuan investigation report approved on October 14, 2021, p.25 (110 教調 0018)
55