New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu has decided to scrap a controversial high school entrance exam. Chu’s announcement on Thursday has been seen by some as a political move.
But Chu said that politics was not involved in the decision. He believes that the new high school admissions system has caused great misery for students and parents this year. He said that if he did not do something to fix the problem now, students taking the exam next year would continue to suffer.
The new system has left many people frustrated due to confusing rules for how students must select their preferred high schools. In the Greater Taipei area, criticism also focused on the weight given to the essay portion of the June entrance exam.
If high school applicants are not accepted by their first-choice schools after the test, they can take a special entrance exam in July in a bid to enter the most exclusive schools.
But Chu announced that all schools in New Taipei City will not hold this special exam, and enrolment in senior high schools citywide will be completed in a single round.