Taiwan's Humanities Gifted Programs Face Closure Amid STEM Surge, Educators Warn of Talent Gap

Taiwan's high schools are witnessing a significant shift as students increasingly gravitate towards natural sciences, driven by the booming semiconductor and AI industries. This trend has led to the closure of humanities-focused gifted programs, with Taichung First Senior High School's program being a recent casualty.

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The 12-year national education system cultivates students' basic abilities from elementary to high school. Junior high schools still have gifted education, but high school gifted education is gradually freezing, forming a deformed phenomenon of 'educational gaps.'

This creates a disconnect, as junior high schools continue to offer humanities gifted education. Educators worry about a "talent gap," where students nurtured in these programs at the junior high level may find no continuation in high school. This could discourage students from pursuing humanities, potentially impacting the nation's talent development.

Many parents hold a rigid view that a STEM education equates to success, often dismissing humanities graduates with stereotypes like "only able to scan barcodes or serve fries." This pressure has caused some students to switch from humanities programs to natural sciences, even when it's not their forte, leading to academic struggles and frustration.

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Reading social sciences means graduating to scan barcodes or serve fries.

School administrators and teachers are pushing back against this narrow definition of success. They emphasize that humanities programs cultivate crucial skills like critical thinking, social awareness, and research abilities, which are vital for understanding societal issues. They argue that these skills are just as, if not more, relevant than those gained in STEM fields, especially in a complex world.

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Humanistic care and social issue exploration are very important, and this is what humanistic or gifted classes hope to teach students.

Students from these programs echo these sentiments, highlighting that their education fosters independent thought and critical analysis. They believe success should not be solely defined by salary, and the value of exploring humanities and social issues should not be diminished. The closure of these programs is seen as a disregard for the need for well-rounded individuals in society.

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Gifted classes cultivate students' diverse thinking abilities, care for humanities and social issues, which is much closer to society than 'science and engineering men.'