STEM DOMINANCE:
Enrollment for programs in science, know-how, engineering and arithmetic continued to develop regardless of the general decline, statistics confirmed
Taiwan’s faculty and college enrollment fell to 1.057 million final 12 months, down 147,000 over the previous 5 years, because the nation’s declining birthrate continues to cut back undergraduate numbers, whereas the proportion of scholars in science and know-how fields elevated and enrollment shares in social sciences and humanities declined, the Ministry of Education stated.
The ministry’s newest School Basic Information Statistics confirmed that complete enrollment throughout all ranges of training dropped to three.929 million college students final 12 months, a lower of 283,000, or 6.7 p.c, in contrast with 5 years earlier. The decline was largely pushed by Taiwan’s low birthrate, with senior excessive faculties and universities experiencing the most important reductions.
Enrollment for college and faculty has fallen steadily since 2020, when the scholar inhabitants stood at 1.203 million. By final 12 months, the determine had dropped to 1.057 million, representing a decline of 12.2 p.c. The lower was concentrated in undergraduate applications, the place enrollment fell by 140,000 college students over 5 years. However, graduate enrollment noticed a slight improve throughout the identical interval.
Photo: Yeh Kai-heng, Taipei Times
The variety of different academic establishments additionally shifted, with 6,616 preschools, 2,607 elementary faculties, 736 junior excessive faculties and 505 senior excessive faculties, the ministry stated.
Despite a 12 months-on-12 months decline in preschools, their complete quantity has elevated by 169 over the previous 5 years, primarily as a result of growth of publicly funded early childhood training. Public preschools elevated by 398, or 17 p.c, through the interval as the federal government continues efforts to develop entry to childcare companies.
The information additionally revealed modifications in college students’ selections of educational fields. Science and know-how applications enrolled 512,000 college students final 12 months, accounting for 48.4 p.c of all faculty college students and making it the most important class. Social sciences accounted for 354,000 college students, or 33.5 p.c, whereas humanities enrolled 191,000 college students, or 18.1 p.c.
Compared with 2020, the share of scholars learning science and know-how elevated by 4.4 proportion factors, regardless of a decline of 17,000 college students. Meanwhile, the shares of scholars in social sciences and humanities fell by 2.9 and 1.5 proportion factors, respectively.
Enrollment in science, know-how, engineering and arithmetic (STEM) fields additionally grew as a proportion of the college inhabitants. STEM college students totaled 380,000 final 12 months, accounting for 35.9 p.c of all faculty college students, up from 31.8 p.c 5 years earlier. The proportion of graduate college students inside STEM fields additionally elevated, rising from 20.5 p.c in 2020 to 23.7 p.c final 12 months.