Private universities say they’re struggling for survival amid Taiwan’s plummeting birth rate. This year, an all-time low of 29,000 students took the college entrance exam. A professors’ union says that at this rate of population decline, some 40 private schools will be forced to close within the next five years, putting 1,700 educators out of work.

Amid the low national birth rate, fewer students are applying to college, yet enrollment quotas are going up. In 2019, enrollment quotas rose by 8.5%. That figure jumped 10 percentage points to 18.4% in 2022. This year, a record low of 29,000 students took the college entrance exam. Yet, there were more than 35,000 spots in enrollment quotas across the country, far more than the actual demand. This mismatch has been described as “the great student shortage.”

Her Ming-guo
Tatung University president
Under current government policies, the hope seems to be that half of all students enroll at public universities – that’s the vague direction we’ve been seeing. By 2026, there will only be 160,000 students, or about 158,000 students. Today, public universities are already recruiting some 80,000 students. Likewise, in 2026, public universities will have at least half of all students.

Today most students choose public schools over private, but even public universities are struggling to recruit. Vacancies are high at Chung Hsing, Sun Yat-sen, and Chung Cheng universities, as well as at National Taiwan University and Tsing Hua University. Private schools have it even worse. According to education ministry estimates, the high-school population will bottom out by the year 2026. A teachers’ union says that within five years, one in three private schools will be forced to close. That means 40 schools will shut down, putting 1,700 educators out of work.

Yu Jung-hui
Union of Private School Educators president
If the market continues to favor public schools over private, then by the 2029 academic year, private colleges will only be able to recruit 595,000 students. Going by a teacher-student ratio of 1 to 21.88, some 6,000 educators will lose their jobs within eight years. So what the government should do is adjust the enrollment quotas and consider allowing public schools to lower recruitment.

Her Ming-guo
Tatung University president
At the very least, resource allocation must be fair. We’re not necessarily asking for government subsidies. But with regard to tuition and fee adjustments, we’re looking for a reasonable response. They say that the same rules apply to both public and private universities. But we feel like we’re competing with one hand tied behind our back.

In an uphill fight for students, private schools are seeking help from the government to cushion the impact of a plummeting birth rate.