The Ministry of Education revised the school meeting system today (7th). If a teacher’s behavior is clearly not punishable by law or complies with school counseling and discipline standards, the case can be closed directly on the front end. The Humanistic Education Foundation issued a statement pointing out that this revision of the law is moving toward phased optimization, which will help reduce unreasonable complaints and wasted administrative resources, but case judgment standards, student relief, and investigation impartiality still need to be improved. In response to some teacher groups' demands for the abolition of school council meetings, Humanistic Education emphasized that the system can be reformed, but cases cannot be returned to the teaching council, and it is recommended to study an external third-party investigation mechanism.
Renben stated that the addition of "clearly legal cases can be closed" in the new system will indeed help schools screen out unreasonable cases. However, there is still a lack of clear standards for the actual determination of what "clearly legal" means, including "serious physical and mental harm" and "necessity of dismissal" in the Teachers Law. There is also room for judgment, and the Ministry of Education should set more specific and consistent standards.
Renben pointed out that at present, the pressure to determine whether a case is accepted, triaged and handled is still mainly borne by the school. It is difficult to completely eliminate problems such as favoritism, administrative burdens, political pressure, and lack of professionalism and independence within the school. Therefore, this revision of the law can only be regarded as a phased process, and further reform of the system is still necessary.
Student relief is also a humanistic concern. Renben stated that after the current school council meeting investigation, students and parents can only obtain a complete report and make submissions in accordance with regulations when dealing with situations involving teacher dismissal, non-renewal, final suspension or dismissal that affect the teacher's status. Human Rights cited a special report of the National Human Rights Commission stating that 53.45% of cases involving serious physical or mental harm caused by corporal punishment or bullying were only punished by a warning or below. It believes that the rights of subsequent relief for the victims of such cases and their parents are not fully guaranteed.
In response to teachers' groups advocating the abolition of school council meetings, Renben said that if it is only abolished without supporting support, the case may return to the past and be handled by the teaching council itself, requiring teachers in the same school to decide whether their colleagues should stay or leave, which would create a high degree of identity conflict. How to adjust the system can be discussed, but we should not go back.
Humanity recommends that the Ministry of Education conduct an empirical study on the existing school affairs meeting investigation report, analyze the appearance, proportion and causes of cases such as small cases that are handled in small cases, small cases that are handled in large amounts, cases that should be accepted but not accepted, and unprofessional investigations, etc., and make the research results public and establish clearer standards; at the same time, it considers moving the cases to a third-party mechanism outside the school for investigation and handling, so that the school can return to its teaching and tutoring duties.
