SHORTAGE:
Schools have confronted challenges recruiting STEM academics, as many individuals have opted for higher-paying jobs within the semiconductor and AI industries
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By Rachel Lin
and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with employees author
The Ministry of Education on Thursday introduced that it plans to suggest an modification to make the hiring of academics for expertise and information-based topics extra flexible.
Schools have confronted rising issue recruiting educators in science, expertise, engineering and arithmetic (STEM) fields, as many certified candidates go for extra profitable careers within the semiconductor and synthetic intelligence industries, the ministry mentioned.
The proposed modification to the Act on Employing Educators on Specialty Subjects in High Schools (高級中等學校專業及技術教師遴聘辦法) would develop various and flexible hiring channels, it mentioned.
Photo courtesy of Minghsin University of Science and Technology
According to the draft, candidates can be eligible in the event that they maintain a minimum of a bachelor’s diploma in a related subject, have a minimal of six years {of professional} trade expertise, have labored at mid to large-sized home or overseas corporations with a minimum of 100 workers or have expertise educating or conducting analysis at universities.
Applications can be reviewed by a panel of specialists, it mentioned.
Those employed by way of this pathway can be counted as a part of a college’s present employees and couldn’t exceed one-eighth of the whole variety of skilled educators on the establishment, in keeping with the draft.
Prospective hires can be required to finish an eight-credit teacher coaching course and cross evaluations earlier than taking on educating duties, in keeping with the modification.
The modification would additionally create a brand new class of “special subjects,” outlined as “normal subjects that require better education, but prove difficult to source teaching personnel.”
Further rules can be drafted to set skilled requirements for educators in these areas, it added.
The colleges can be accountable for overseeing all phases of the candidate choice course of, the ministry mentioned.
Teachers employed by way of this pathway would depend towards the college’s present staffing quota and couldn’t exceed one-eighth of the whole variety of skilled educators on the faculty, it mentioned.
Once colleges finalize their candidate lists, they have to submit them to the ministry for additional evaluation, the ministry mentioned.
Only after passing the ministry’s evaluation would candidates be granted certificates confirming their eligibility to show as skilled or vocational educators, it added.