From Reducing Workload to Increasing Pay and Protecting Rights! Kao Hung-an: Building a Secure Teaching Environment to Retain Quality Educators

To create a supportive educational workplace and enhance teacher retention, Hsinchu City Mayor Kao Hung-an has continuously promoted teacher retention policies since taking office. These initiatives span reducing teaching and administrative burdens, improving compensation, protecting substitute teachers’ rights, strengthening psychological and legal support, and enhancing teaching environments—comprehensively optimizing working conditions for educators. Mayor Kao emphasized that teachers are the core of educational quality, and retaining talent requires more than just allowances. Systemic reforms and resource investments are essential to ensure teachers feel respected and supported, enabling them to focus on teaching and remain in the profession long-term.

"Reduce Burden, Enhance Capacity, Ensure Rights, Provide Support": Advancing Teacher Retention

Kao highlighted that the city government has been driving reforms across four key areas: reducing burden, enhancing capacity, ensuring rights, and providing support. To reduce teaching load, the city has implemented the "equal value across subjects" policy, gradually reducing weekly teaching hours for art, health and physical education, and integrated activities from 20 to 18 periods. The student-teacher ratio for first-grade elementary classes has been lowered to 28 students per class. All schools now have designated special education coordinators, and 30 additional substitute teachers have been hired to reduce teaching loads in elementary schools. Deputy group leaders have been added in junior high schools, and the recruitment of full-time teachers continues to reduce both teaching and administrative pressures.

Regarding compensation and rights, Kao stated that starting February 1 of this year (115), the city has increased administrative allowances for teachers holding administrative roles. In addition to central government subsidies, principals receive an extra NT$2,000 per month, directors NT$1,500, and group leaders and deputy leaders NT$1,000. The city is also retroactively paying the difference in homeroom teacher allowances. Teachers performing duties on holidays may choose between class substitution, compensatory leave, or overtime pay. The lunch subsidy has increased from NT$450 to NT$650 per month, and Teachers’ Day gift money has risen from NT$600 to NT$1,000. Furthermore, the city has invested nearly NT$60 million to recognize substitute teachers’ pre-employment service years for salary increments and has pioneered full-year contracts for substitute teachers, protecting their employment rights and boosting retention.

The Hsinchu City Government continues to comprehensively optimize teachers’ working conditions and improve teaching environments, elevating education quality and empowering teachers. (Photo: Hsinchu City Government)

Kao noted that the city is also strengthening teacher support systems. Fees for personnel involved in assessing students with disabilities in schools and kindergartens have been increased. High school tutoring hourly rates have risen by 20%, as have after-school and holiday tutoring rates for junior high schools. The budget for the "Teacher Counseling and Support Service" has doubled to NT$1.1 million, increasing the number of free psychological counseling sessions available to teachers. Legal advisory services have also been enhanced, ensuring teachers receive comprehensive professional support when facing teaching challenges, parent-teacher communication, or campus incidents.

In early childhood education, Hsinchu City’s public and non-profit kindergartens have achieved a teacher-student ratio of 1:12 for 3- to 5-year-old classes and 1:7 for 2-year-old specialized classes. Starting in the 115 academic year, the hourly rate for after-school childcare staff will increase from NT$400 to NT$480. Additionally, staff aged 40 and above—including caregivers, administrative personnel, and kitchen workers—will receive an annual health check subsidy of NT$4,500, continuously improving working conditions and benefits for early childhood educators.

In terms of teaching environment development, the city has completed the installation of large screens in every classroom across 46 schools, totaling 2,400 classrooms, and is promoting the "one teacher, one device" initiative to enhance digital teaching quality. Over NT$5.9 billion has been invested in new construction and renovation projects for 18 schools and 24 buildings. More than NT$603 million has been allocated to improve pedestrian pathways for 28 schools, continuously creating a safe and high-quality campus learning environment.

Director Lin Li-sheng of the Education Bureau stated that education policies should use correct institutional terms and content to avoid social misunderstandings caused by incorrect terminology. Policy discussions should return to professionalism and facts, conducting comprehensive and holistic evaluations. Measures such as administrative allowances, substitute teacher contract durations, reduced teaching loads, increased administrative staffing, and campus environment improvements are all crucial components of teacher retention policies. Regarding administrative bonus disbursements, the city will fully explain procedures based on administrative processes and budget execution progress, clearly distinguishing between policy effective dates, administrative processing timelines, and actual payment dates to prevent information confusion.

The Education Bureau emphasized that retaining excellent teachers is key to safeguarding students’ learning quality. Moving forward, under the principles of fiscal sustainability, institutional fairness, and policy continuity, the city will continue refining teacher compensation, administrative workload reduction, and retention strategies to build a high-quality environment where teachers can teach with confidence, students can learn securely, and education can develop sustainably.