History of education in Taiwan

The recorded history of education in Taiwan can be traced back to the Dutch colonial period. In 1636, the Dutch started a school for the Sinckan that not only featured religious instruction, but also provided schooling in Western literature. Because the Dutch advocated missionary work to be done in the native language, the school was taught in the Sinckan language. The missionary Robertus Junius recorded in his 1643 education report that the Sinckan school had enrolled 80 students, of which 24 were learning to write and 8 to 10 had solid penmanship, while in neighboring Baccaluan school there were 90 students, of which 8 knew how to write.

Aside from proselytizing, the missionaries also compiled dictionaries and books of religious doctrine; they translated Gospel of Matthew into Sinckan and also compiled a vocabulary of Favorlang, another aboriginal language. These would become important sources for later research. The most important Sinckan documents were the contracts between the Sinckan and the Han settlers, commonly known as the Fanzi contracts.

Under Qing Dynasty rule, many traditional schools were established, mostly studying Chinese classics such as the teachings of Confucius. During the Japanese colonial period, modern schools were formed, with widespread establishment of primary schools, taught in Japanese. However, higher schooling for Taiwanese people was rare, and secondary schools and colleges were mostly for Japanese nationals. In special cases Taiwanese did receive higher schooling and many went to Japan for further studies.

After retrocession to Chinese rule in 1945, education in Taiwan was re-established as a synthesis of the Japanese system and the modern Chinese system implemented by the Nationalist government on the mainland. During the early post-war period, mandatory schooling consisted of only six years of primary school education, which was also the length under Japanese colonial rule. In 1968, this was extended to nine years.

See also

* Sinckan Manuscripts