Advantages and Disadvantages of the Education System in Taiwan

Education is very important today. Consequently, Taiwan’s educational system is well-developed and included several stages of study. Nowadays Taiwan has a nine-year compulsory education system, which includes six years of elementary school and three years of junior high school. After the compulsory education a person may graduate from senior high school after three years of studying and then go on with studying in a university or college for four years.
Having achieved the secondary level a person may continue studying. He can go on with specialized training at five-year junior colleges, which accept students right after graduating from junior high school. These junior colleges focus on applied sciences and technology. In addition, there are two-year junior colleges, liberal arts colleges, technical colleges and universities. University undergraduate programs accept students after four years of study. Nevertheless, students who are not able to perform all the requirements within the designated time – four years of study – are given additional time of about two years. Specialized undergraduate programs such as jurisprudence or medicine take from six to seven years with an included internship period of one year.
If you want to receive master or doctoral degree you need to fulfill a graduate program that require one to four years and two to seven years of study. However, those people who combine job with studies can be given additional time if for some reason they cannot finish the required course or to complete their thesis/dissertation in time. There exist supplementary schools from the elementary through senior high and senior vocational school levels in Taiwan. Consequently, everyone can choose his educational direction and choose some profession. Summarizing, Taiwanese educational program is a well-developed one with several levels of studying. Thus, everyone can choose a specialized educational program in order to become a good specialist.
According to recent data, about 80% of students continue their studying in a high school and about 44% of high school graduates go on to junior colleges or universities. There are about 121 colleges and universities in Taiwan, including state and private institutions. However, the annual budget on education of 1.5% is not attained. Another disadvantage of the Taiwanese educational system is that there exists a difficult standardized examination for students who want to continue their studying in a college or university. Moreover, many students who fail to pass this examination have nervous breakdown or even commit suicide. Consequently, the educational system of Taiwan has changed; however, it has some features that should be modified in order to better the educational system of Taiwan.