Mainland degree recognition not to be retroactive
Taiwan’s planned recognition of mainland Chinese university degrees will not be applied retroactively, according to the proposed draft revision of related regulations recently finalized by the Ministry of Education.
The ministry announced the contents of the draft amendment signed by MOE Minister Wu Ching-ji Feb. 4. According to Article 4, students from Taiwan who obtain a degree conferred by a higher education institution on the mainland after the amendment is passed into law must apply with the government for official recognition of the degree.
At a meeting to explain the planned revisions, the ministry said that only degrees obtained after the changes come into effect would be recognized.
Yang Yu-hui, deputy director of the MOE’s Department of Higher Education, explained that the ministry has given advance notice of the draft amendment with the hope of soliciting and incorporating the views and opinions of all sectors of society. He noted that the revisions have by no means been formally promulgated but that the direction is certainly slanting toward not recognizing mainland degrees retroactively.
Yang said Taiwan students who are currently studying at mainland Chinese universities or have done so in the past would have to undergo qualification screening examinations by the ministry and that not all of the students’ degrees would necessarily receive recognition. He pointed out that the purpose of this approach is to enhance checks and to eradicate the practice of buying fake mainland Chinese university degrees.
Top officials said that according to tallies compiled by the government, approximately 20,000 Taiwan nationals studied at higher education institutes on the mainland between 1985 and 2009, while currently there are thousands pursuing degrees there.
The officials noted that the question of recognizing mainland degrees and whether to apply the policy retroactively involves many layers of issues as well as considerations of the legality of such a policy. As such, they said that the ministry cannot decide the matter on its own, pointing out that a final decision will only be made following the completion of a comprehensive assessment.
The ministry has held nearly 20 explanatory meetings around Taiwan to hear the general public’s views on the proposed recognition of mainland Chinese degrees and the planned opening of the island’s universities to mainland students. At the meetings, many parents of students who received degrees on the mainland or are currently pursuing degrees there have urged the government to apply the policy on recognition retroactively. (SB)
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