Taiwan schools face teacher shortage as new semester begins

新學期開始，台灣學校面臨師資短缺

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Primary and secondary schools across Taiwan are facing a teacher shortage as the new semester begins.

Vacancies for full-time and substitute teachers total more than 2,600, including about 900 full-time positions and 1,700 substitutes, per CTI News.

Some schools are scrambling to fill posts less than a week before classes start, with urgent recruitment drives for substitute teachers, reported PTS News.

To speed up hiring, schools are accepting applicants with only a university degree in a relevant subject as substitutes.

National Substitute Teachers Union Director Sun Ching-ting (孫靖婷) said signs of a shortage had been apparent for years, as reflected in rising calls for emergency substitute instructors.

Critics argue that heavy demands on substitutes are worsening the problem. At schools with staff shortages, substitutes are often required to handle administrative duties and take on heavy teaching loads, sometimes in unfamiliar subjects.