Taiwan Adopts A$2 Billion 5 yr Upgrade for Its Research Universities. (February 15, 2005)

    On January 20 this year the Taiwanese Legislative Yuan voted to allocate A$402 million per annum over the next five years to renovate its most productive research universities and boost academic staff salaries in a concerted effort to turn them into world-class institutions. The details of how this is to be accomplished is yet to be finalised. The decision rests with a new cabinet now being assembled but the outgoing cabinet had set out rules whereby most of the money was to be earmarked for universities with a student population over 25,000. Currently only the National Taiwan University, Taipei  and the National Cheng Kung University in Tainan fit the 25,000 plus criteria. The remaining funds are to go to research centres affiliated with a dozen or so universities with active research programs.

As part of the upgrading Science reports "the schools would also need to take steps to become private, not-for-profit institutions" part of a broader government campaign to streamline Taiwan's higher education system which numbers over 100 universities at present.

Taiwan has a population just under 23,000,000 about 10% greater than Australia's with a purchasing power parity (ppp) per capita income of - A$30,000 (2003 est.). Australians have a ppp per capita income of  - A$37,000 (2003 est.)

A survey undertaken by the Taiwanese Education Minister showed that compared to its cohort nations per capita spending at National Taiwan University was 8.5% the amount at the University of Tokyo and 12.5% that of the National University of Singapore. Chen Teh-hua, director of the ministry's Department of Higher Education told Science the analysis "confirmed the shocking disparity among the institutions."

But with the necessary revamping of the Taiwanese Cabinet following the recent national elections will the political will remain to implement the elitist initiative? Frank Shu^1,2, an astronomer who in 2002 left the University of California, Berkeley, to become president of National Tsing Hua University in Hsinchu says simply, "Higher education is a competitive sport. If you don't give resources to your best, you won't be able to compete on the world stage." Frank Shu was on the committee designated by the Australian National University last year to review its achievements and shortcomings.

With the instillation of the new cabinet there is sure to be a rekindling of arguments. As would be expected the small universities want a more equitable share of the funding and suggest perhaps a 60-40 split between the 25,000 plus schools and the rest. However, the question of privatisation is also controversial. Former National Central University president C. H. Liu told Science "[it] is extremely controversial and is opposed by both government and opposition legislators."

It will be interesting to follow events as they unfold and compare movement in Taiwan as compared to machinations by Australia's Coalition government.