TABLE 5.-Program of studies for the 3-year junior middle school

1 In communities in which Mongolians, Moslems, or Tibetans formed majority groups, the study of their respective languages was required along with English and Chinese.

TABLE 6.-Program of studies for the 3-year senior middle school

1 In communities in which Mongolians, Moslems, or Tibetans formed majority groups, the study of their respective languages was required along with English and Chinese.

A readjustment in the curricula of the senior and junior middle schools was made in the school year starting August 1952. The revised program for the senior middle school includes military training, production training and service, and civic training, while that for the junior middle school is production training and service and civic training. In line with the general mobilization of the country, military training was first revived in normal school in 1951, and by law, it became effective in 1953, requiring students in the middle schools and colleges to take military training.

Besides the experiment in changing the number of years required for junior and senior middle schools, the Ministry is also experimenting with the readjustment of the curriculum to suit the changed schedule. The curriculum for the first 4 years, that is to say, junior middle school, is more or less the same as that of the first 4 years of the existing system except that the number of hours for Chinese and English has been increased to 5 hours weekly. See tables 7 and 8. The curriculum of the last 2 years, however, emphasizes the possibility that the student may pursue higher studies after he leaves school. Table 7 shows the weekly number of hours of instruction of these two groups:

TABLE 7.-Curriculum of last 2 years of middle school under experimental program

The 4-year system is planned for students who cannot afford to pursue higher studies after they have left school. Thus the program of studies is so readjusted as to meet their requirements. The curriculum for the first 2 years is similar to that of the existing system. A number of elective courses are available in the last 2 years so that a student may follow any course which will have bearing on his future profession or trade.

TABLE 8.-Weekly number of hours of instruction in the 4-year system

The law on vocational schools was promulgated in 1932 and since then regulations have been revised from time to time. Like the secondary or middle schools, vocational schools are divided into two grades, junior vocational school and senior vocational school, each requiring 3 years. Like the secondary or middle and primary schools, junior vocational schools are established by the county or "hsien” and towns, while senior vocational schools are established by the Provincial or municipal government. Any county or town with the required facilities may petition the Provincial Department of Education for permission to establish a senior vocational school.

Entrance to junior vocational school requires graduation from elementary schools or those of equal standing at the age of 12 to 18. For the senior vocational schools there are two kinds of age limits. The 3-year program admits graduates of the junior middle school or its equivalence at the age of 15 to 22, while those with 5- or 6-year courses admit graduates of the elementary schools or its equivalence at the age of 12 to 20.

While the secondary or middle schools and vocational schools seem to be alike in certain respects, there is some difference in the organization of the program of studies between the ordinary vocational schools and the middle schools. In the junior vocational schools and senior vocational schools, the programs are two separate entities, with no relation to each other. The junior vocational school is to acquaint youth with simple knowledge and skill in order to develop their abilities in the common occupations. The senior vocational school is to train them in more advanced knowledge and skill. Therefore the graduates of the junior vocational schools are normally very young and limited in training, and it is difficult for them to find proper employment. It was for this reason that in 1951, the Department of Education of Taiwan Provincial Government ordered by way of experimentation, the Ilan Agricultural Vocational School to give a 6-year course; the Industrial Vocational School, attached to the Taiwan Engineering College, to give a 5-year course; and the Taichung Municipal Home Economics Vocational School to give a 4-year course. Table 9 shows the development of vocational schools during the last few years.

TABLE 9.-Development of vocational schools, 1949–53

Program of Studies in the Vocational Schools

Instruction in vocational schools covers from 40 to 48 hours each week, which are divided according to the scale of 30 percent for vocational subjects, 20 percent for general subjects, and the remaining 50 percent for practical work. The percentage in the distribution of school hours, however, is not obligatory and mainly depends upon the nature of the school. Since May 1952, the program of studies has been revised and table 10 shows the latest program of studies in the Vocational schools. In the curriculum, vocational education has been closely integrated with general education and is intended to give the students the technical knowledge they need as well as to develop their character. In addition to agricultural, industrial, commercial, and other technical subjects, emphasis is also being laid on fishery, printing, spinning, weaving, and home economics.

The law on normal schools and regulations governing teacher education were issued in 1933, and since then there have been several revisions. The entrance requirement is graduation from junior middle school, and the course of study covers 3 years. In order to meet the needs of supplying teachers the special course admitting senior middle school graduates or senior vocational school graduates and covering 1 year may also be established under the law. Certain local districts were allowed to establish short-course normal schools covering a period of 4 years and admitting primary school graduates.

All the teacher-training institutions are controlled and supported by the Government, and it is a field in which private organizations and individuals may not enter. Provincial, municipal, or district normal schools are supported by the respective authorities. The teacher-training institutions provide free board and room for the students. Generally the number of students for each grade in normal school is limited to from 25 to 50. Students must serve a certain legal period after graduation.

Program of Studies

Curricula and standards of subjects for teaching in the different kinds of normal schools, which are revised from time to time, are issued from the Ministry of Education. Table 11 shows the latest program of studies as prescribed for the normal schools. The curricula of other types of normal schools or classes include such additional sub