College enrollment shows slump – Taipei Times

STEM DOMINANCE:
Enrollment for courses in science, technology, engineering and mathematics continued to grow despite the overall decline, statistics showed

Taiwan’s college and university enrollment fell to 1.057 million last year, down 147,000 over the past five years, as the nation’s declining birthrate continues to reduce undergraduate numbers, while the proportion of students in science and technology fields increased and enrollment shares in social sciences and humanities declined, the Ministry of Education said.

The ministry’s latest School Basic Information Statistics showed that total enrollment across all levels of education dropped to 3.929 million students last year, a decrease of 283,000, or 6.7 percent, compared with five years earlier. The decline was largely driven by Taiwan’s low birthrate, with senior high schools and universities experiencing the largest reductions.

Enrollment for university and college has fallen steadily since 2020, when the student population stood at 1.203 million. By last year, the figure had dropped to 1.057 million, representing a decline of 12.2 percent. The decrease was concentrated in undergraduate programs, where enrollment fell by 140,000 students over five years. However, graduate enrollment saw a slight increase during the same period.

Photo: Yeh Kai-heng, Taipei Times

The number of other educational institutions also shifted, with 6,616 preschools, 2,607 elementary schools, 736 junior high schools and 505 senior high schools, the ministry said.

Despite a year-on-year decline in preschools, their total number has increased by 169 over the past five years, mainly due to the expansion of publicly funded early childhood education. Public preschools increased by 398, or 17 percent, during the period as the government continues efforts to expand access to childcare services.

The data also revealed changes in students’ choices of academic fields. Science and technology programs enrolled 512,000 students last year, accounting for 48.4 percent of all college students and making it the largest category. Social sciences accounted for 354,000 students, or 33.5 percent, while humanities enrolled 191,000 students, or 18.1 percent.

Compared with 2020, the share of students studying science and technology increased by 4.4 percentage points, despite a decline of 17,000 students. Meanwhile, the shares of students in social sciences and humanities fell by 2.9 and 1.5 percentage points, respectively.

Enrollment in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields also grew as a proportion of the university population. STEM students totaled 380,000 last year, accounting for 35.9 percent of all college students, up from 31.8 percent five years earlier. The proportion of graduate students within STEM fields also increased, rising from 20.5 percent in 2020 to 23.7 percent last year.