Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-10-29

The education ministry should keep the proportion of Classical Chinese in high school curriculum as it is in order ensure students’ competitiveness. That was the word from Tan Chia-hua, a retired Chinese teacher from Zhongshan Girls High School in Taipei.

On September 23, the education ministry’s curriculum review committee voted to reduce the proportion of classical Chinese taught in high school curriculum to between 35 and 45 percent. That’s 10 percent below the Classical Chinese content recommended by the National Academy for Educational Research Committee.

Tan criticized the ministry’s decision, saying it will diminish the linguistic competence of Taiwanese students. She said that the government is pushing the inclusion of English, Taiwanese Hokkien and several Southeast Asian languages in the elementary school curriculum. However,Tan said that this strategy, along with cuts to Classical Chinese, will leave students with limited abilities in any language.    [SOURCE]