REWRITING HISTORY:The NAER’s statement that the use of textbooks it had not “sanctioned” was against the law was described as a throwback to the Martial Law era
Taipei Times
Date: May 11, 2015
By: Rachel Lin, Tseng Wei-chen and Jake Chung / Staff reporters, with staff writer
The National Academy for Educational Research (NAER) on Saturday warned
publishers against using textbooks that it has not explicitly approved, prompting criticism from opposition lawmakers, who said the academy’s approach was reminiscent of crackdowns on freedom of expression during the White Terror era.
The academy said that using textbooks it has not sanctioned would be in defiance of the Regulations on the Review and Approval of Senior-High School Textbooks (高級中等學校教科用書審定辦法).
The issue stems from controversy sparked by the Ministry of Education in January last year which made “minor adjustments” to the high-school curriculum guidelines for history, civic and social studies, Chinese and geography.