4 universities to close in July amid declining enrollment

Taipei, June 3 (CNA) TransWorld University, Mingdao University, Tatung Institute of Technology and Tungfang Design University will close in July as declining birth rates continue to hit enrollment rates and school finances across Taiwan.

According to the Ministry of Education (MOE), arrangements have been made for the 728 students enrolled at the four universities to continue their studies at other schools for the start of the new academic year in the autumn.

TransWorld University, Mingdao University and Tatung Institute of Technology had been given a six-month grace period to resolve their operating difficulties, however, the MOE determined that insufficient improvement had been made and finalized their closures on May 31.

Tungfang Design University, meanwhile, had applied with the MOE to terminate operations by the end of the 2023-2024 academic year.

According to Wu Chun-chung (吳忠春), chairman of the Union of Private School Educators, the wave of consistently falling birth rates will begin to impact universities around Taiwan in 2028.

Private universities will be more heavily affected, given students' preference for public schools, Wu told CNA on Sunday.

Wu predicted that around 40-50 out of 103 private universities around Taiwan would be forced to close or transform in the future given the present situation.

High schools -- especially private ones -- are also suffering due to Taiwan's declining birth rate, with nationwide enrollment dipping below 200,000 to around 186,000 in the 2023-2024 academic year, Wu said.

By 2038, the number of freshmen at private high schools in Taiwan is set to sink to 30,000, Wu said.

This would result in an estimated 50 private high schools closing their doors, Wu added.