"Leave those kids alone!" Toward the end of June, the Happy Learning Education Reform Front-organized by Huang Wu-hsiung (founder of the 410 Education Reform Alliance), Li Hsing-chang (founder of the Snails without Shells housing advocacy group), Hsia Shou-chiu (a professor in the Department of Building and Urban Planning at National Taiwan University), and others-took to the streets. They carried slogans protesting against the alleged failure of education reform, and made several appeals, such as: Let children learn happily, allow teachers to enjoy professional autonomy, promote 12-year compulsory education, implement small classes and small schools, increase the number of public universities, and protect the education rights of the disadvantaged.

Not long thereafter, the Alliance against High Tuition (AHT) made protests and filed petitions in opposition to tuition hikes at universities. AHT convener Chien Shu-hui says that tuition and fees are constantly rising at universities in Taiwan, which, given the current difficult economic conditions, clearly creates a burden on ordinary citizens. According to AHT figures, tuition has increased by 40% at public universities since 1997 and 12% at private universities, but wages have only increased by 8%.

The AHT is calling on the government to collect an "education profits tax" from the business community. They claim that parents and students are caught in a bind between high tuition for college but low pay from the companies that take advantage of all the highly trained manpower that colleges produce, arguing that it is only fair that those businesses that earn more should bear more of the burden of paying for education. The AHT further argues that under the higher tuition policy, education increasingly resembles a commodity that only the wealthy can afford, while the children of less well-off families have no opportunity to make good in life.

In response to these claims, on July 10 the e-paper of President Chen Shui-bian stated that Taiwan has always had a low-tuition policy, with the best schools often being the least expensive. To help narrow the gap between tuition at heavily subsidized public universities as opposed to tuition-dependent private ones, the government subsidizes up to 20% of routine expenses at private universities, which is very rarely done anywhere else in the world.

The arguments put forward in the e-paper have by no means appeased dissatisfied groups, however. On July 6, the Happy Learning Front, the AHT, and other groups brought a petition to the Office of the President demanding that the president publicly debate the issue. They declared that if current education problems are not resolved, they will mobilize 100,000 people on Teachers Day to protest at the Office of the President in the biggest demonstration in history.

They are not alone. On July 20, the Education Reconstruction Front, (ERF) founded by National Taiwan University psychology professor Huang Kuang-kuo and including more than 100 professors and experts, released an Education Reconstruction Manifesto. Making a pun on the government's mainland policy slogan of "four no's and one not," they declared that 10 years of education reform can also be summarized as "four no's and one not": no sense of responsibility in the government, no support from teachers, no peace of mind for parents, no joy for students, and not having any future after graduation.

The manifesto called the major elements of education reform-including alternatives to the high school entrance exams, new approaches to teaching math, the unified nine-year curriculum, private publication of textbooks and allowing each school to choose its own textbooks, integrated instruction, diversified channels for advancement, new forms of teacher training, elimination of technical high schools, a large increase in the number of academic high schools, and faculty control over campuses-mistakes. They also called on Lee Yuan-tseh, president of the Academia Sinica, whom they call "the leader of education reform," to accept responsibility for these alleged failures. The ERF issued four main demands: (1) To reassess the ten years of education reform and end the chaotic situation; (2) To make education policy transparent and respect the views of experts; (3) To devote more attention to disadvantaged students and uphold social justice; and (4) To pursue excellence in education and put joy into learning.

Complementing these voices of skepticism, related issues-including budgetary shortages in many counties and cities, and cases of teachers applying for retirement and being refused-have gotten into the public spotlight. In contrast to officialdom's response to the anti-reform groups (which is seen as inadequately proactive), the government has moved quickly to tackle the question of retirement rights of teachers. Given the coming election, the government is producing a number of generous policies, including funding for teacher retirement. The Ministry of Education has proposed a budget of NT$20-30 billion for teacher retirement, and the Executive Yuan plans to tap central government tax revenues to quickly resolve this problem.

With regard to high tuition, the Executive Yuan has devised a plan for interest-free student loans, available to all families with an annual income of NT$1.2 million or less. In addition, the Ministry of Education plans to offer scholarships for the children of laborers, farmers, and the unemployed.

In response to the Education Reconstruction Manifesto, signed by over 100 professors and experts, the Executive Yuan stated that it respects and will consider all constructive suggestions related to education reform, and will pass them along to the National Education Development Conference (to be convened in September by the Ministry of Education) for reference. The Executive Yuan also said it is willing to "broadly accept responsibility for" the problems of education reform, but that one should not deny the positive efforts put in by education reformers in the past, and that the complex problems of education reform cannot be solved in a single stroke.

Minister of Education Huang Jong-tsun described the chaotic situation in education reform with the expression, "Trying to stop the flow of water by cutting it with a knife." He stated that he humbly accepts the ERF manifesto, and sincerely invites the 100-plus scholars involved to meet with ministry officials before the National Education Development Conference convenes.

As National Taiwan University Professor Hsia Shou-chiu says, if those who are dissatisfied with the way education is being run do not take the opportunity afforded by the presidential election to raise questions about education policy now, it is improbable they will get attention from the government or the public. It looks unlikely that this issue will cool down any time soon, so let us hope that it gets the attention it deserves, while at the same time realizing that education is a long-term process that calls for long-term solutions.