[3078] PCT institutions discuss strategies in view of declining national birthrate

PCT institutions discuss strategies in view of declining national birthrate

Reported by Sam Lee

Written by Lydia Ma

How should PCT educational institutions brace for the upcoming population decline which will inevitably result in decreasing enrollment? A forum was convened by PCT Higher Education Committee on February 18-19, 2011, at Aletheia University Matou Campus to address this pressing question. Leaders from all PCT seminaries, universities and Bible colleges met with the goal of formulating a strategy to deal with this pressing issue.

According to PCT Higher Education Committee Chairman and former National Taiwan Sport University President Chou Hung-shih, there were 166,886 newborns in 2010, which translates into approximately 50% of college freshmen in 2011. In other words, about 50% of universities will be out of business 18 years from now.

At a time when secular universities are vying for applicants by commercializing education, PCT universities must display their unique and superior qualities to earn their spots among the nation’s top universities.

PCT General Secretary Andrew Chang remarked that faced with this impending situation, PCT institutions should have an edge in the competition because they are pioneers in medical and educational institutions in Taiwan. He underscored that a decrease in enrollment might even become an opportunity to highlight these institutions’ strengths.

For instance, PCT hospitals and universities might have an edge in the competition if hospitals integrate resources between them or hospitals and schools provide co-operative programs for medical school students. Cooperative programs might include collaborative programs between MacKay Memorial Hospital, Mackay Medical College, and Mackay Medicine, Nursing and Management College for northern Taiwan, and collaborative programs between Aletheia University and Sinlau Hospital for southern Taiwan.

Chang Jung Christian University President Chen Chin-seng commented during an OST meeting his view that Taiwanese universities suffer from unequal resource allocation, which will inevitably result in vicious competition, resource waste, and major disparities in funding between rural and urban area universities, and between public and private universities.

Chen also predicted universities in the east coast will likely close down sooner than those in the west coast and declining birth rates will unearth corruption cases more than ever before. Despite these, he was optimistic because he believed difficult circumstances would also force universities to reform and become better, which would benefit society in the long run.