What are the six major educational demands from the Kaohsiung union?

Reducing class sizes, hiring more assistants, adding counselors, third-party mediation, administrative reduction, lowering student-teacher ratios, and education roundtables.

How did Lai Jui-long express his support?

He signed a commitment letter, pledged full support, and promised to host education roundtables and address pay equity.

What does Ko Chih-en emphasize in her education policy?

Collaboration with grassroots teachers and trust-building. She supports most demands but wants further study on hiring assistants.

What is the purpose of the third-party mediation mechanism?

To impartially resolve parent-teacher conflicts, reduce school meeting burdens, and create a smoother educational environment.

What is the goal of the education roundtable conference?

To include frontline educators’ voices directly in policy-making for more effective and practical education reforms.

Responding to Education Groups: Lai Jui-long Signs Commitment Letter, Ko Chih-en Pledges Collaboration with Grassroots Teachers

Published Jul 15, 2026 1:52 PM ・ Updated Jul 15, 2026 4:07 PM ・ 7 min read ・ Source: CNA (Central News Agency)

The Kaohsiung Education Industry Union presented six major educational demands to mayoral candidates. Lai Jui-long of the DPP signed a commitment letter fully supporting the union's proposals, while Ko Chih-en of the KMT pledged to work with grassroots teachers to build a new future for Kaohsiung's education system.

Central News Agency Report

(Central News Agency reporter Tsai Meng-yu, Kaohsiung, July 15) The Kaohsiung Education Industry Union has presented six major educational demands to mayoral candidates. Lai Jui-long, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate for Kaohsiung mayor, signed a 'Commitment Letter' expressing full support for the union's demands. Kuomintang (KMT) mayoral candidate Ko Chih-en stated she will collaborate with grassroots teachers to create a new future for Kaohsiung's education.

The Kaohsiung Education Industry Union recently submitted six major educational demands to the mayoral candidates, including reducing class sizes, increasing teacher assistants and student assistants, hiring more counselors and social workers, establishing an independent and impartial mediation mechanism, promoting administrative workload reduction, lowering the student-to-teacher ratio, and instituting an education roundtable conference mechanism.

Lai Jui-long recently met with the Kaohsiung Education Industry Union and, with DPP legislator Hsu Chih-chieh as witness, signed the 'Six Educational Demands Commitment Letter.' Lai stated that he fully supports all the union's demands and will incorporate them into his policy blueprint, implementing them in stages to jointly build a high-quality, stable educational environment.

Lai pledged to hire more professional personnel to meet campus counseling and disciplinary needs, review unnecessary performance indicators and paperwork, and gradually reduce the student-to-teacher ratio in special education and preschool education. He also plans to develop measures to address the issue of unequal pay for equal work among different staff roles on campus, aiming to achieve educational justice.

Regarding the growing issue of parent-teacher conflicts in modern education, Lai proposed studying the establishment of a permanent 'third-party impartial mediation mechanism' to promote communication-first practices and reduce unnecessary school meetings. He also committed to personally chairing future 'Education Roundtable Conferences' to ensure frontline professional voices are substantively included in core decision-making.

Ko Chih-en stated that teacher groups have always been partners working alongside public education authorities. If elected mayor of Kaohsiung, she pledged to establish a good, trusting relationship with grassroots teachers and teacher organizations.

In response to the union's demands—including gradually reducing class sizes, improving school dispute resolution mechanisms, reducing internal friction between parents and teachers, reducing administrative burdens, lowering teaching hours, reducing the special education student-to-teacher ratio, and holding annual 'Education Roundtable Conferences'—Ko said these are long-standing issues she deeply cares about and align with her own education policy direction.

Regarding the demand to hire additional 'teacher assistants' and 'student assistants,' Ko noted that due to complexities involving organizational structure, role definition, and reimbursement procedures, responsibilities and positions require further clarification. She stated she will continue discussing and studying these proposals with the Kaohsiung Education Industry Union. (Edited by Li Heng-shan) 1150715

FACT BOX

Source: CNA (Central News Agency)
Category: Taiwan

Responding to Education Groups: Lai Jui-long Signs Commitment Letter, Ko Chih-en Pledges Collaboration with Grassroots Teachers

⚡ Key Points

FACT BOX

Editorial & Verification Standards

FAQ

Cite this article — HOW TO CITE

AI CRAWLER ACTIVITY