Karl International Experimental Education Institute — Schooling Alternative for Hong Kong Families Immigrating to Taiwan
HSINCHU, Taiwan, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — The number of immigrants from Hong Kong has risen steadily; according to the Immigration Agency in Taiwan, over 5,000 people immigrated to Taiwan from Hong Kong in 2019. Taipei, Taoyuan and Hsinchu are three of the popular cities for immigration but recently moving to Hsinchu has been the trending topic.
Taiwan’s Experimental Education Law
In addition to finding a job and getting accustomed to the new environment, some Hong Kong families might be concerned with finding a suitable school that is different from the traditional test-focused schools for their children, which brings us to the Experimental Education Law of 2014. Since its approval 6 years ago, this law allows inspired educators in Taiwan to provide certified programs unlike those offered by conventional schools. Karl International Experimental Education Institution (Karl School) and Johan International Experimental Education Institute (Johan School) in Zhubei, Hsinchu County, for instance, offers grade 1 to grade 12 classes for families interested in activity-based experimental learning instead of the traditional test-based learning.
Karl School offers 8 to 16 hours of academic classes that are taught in English. This is higher than those offered by most public and private secondary schools in Taiwan. In its weekly curriculum, Karl School incorporates exploratory classes like programming language, equestrian, rock climbing, digital music, English dubbing, 3D printing, street dance, and golf, to name a few, so that students have a diverse set of skills and have a wide selection of activities to develop their potentials. This year Karl School became the first school in Taiwan certified by both British Council and Oxford AQA to offer IGCSE and A-Level classes. This is highly suitable for students emigrating from Hong Kong who desires to pursue an undergraduate degree abroad.
Students at Karl School will benefit from the abundant resources whether they pursue their undergraduate studies overseas or in Taiwan. Since the implementation of Experimental Education Law, various national universities including National Taiwan University in Taipei, and National Chiao Tung University and National Tsing Hua University in Hsinchu offer special admissions for students graduating from experimental schools. In 2019 Tsing Hua and Chiao Tung each offered 60 and 47 acceptances for applicants, which accounts for 10% of all admissions quotas across universities in Taiwan.
How Experimental Education Differs from the System
Mr. Chan, the principal at Karl International Education Institute, came from Hong Kong and immigrated to Taiwan over 10 years ago. He is delighted to share his experience as an immigrant to Taiwan, as well as his understanding of the differences and similarities in the education systems on both sides. "The test-based approach in Taiwan and Hong Kong are too test oriented, students learn the skills to take tests and do fill-in the blanks questions," Principal Chan expressed. "Students often have to go to cram schools after school until 8 or 9pm in the evening, as the whole learning environment is focused on taking a test well, and not in enjoying the process of learning." He further added that, "Many parents are aware of this problem but are restricted by the education system that is slow to reform." Fortunately, the recent experimental education law allows educators to work outside of the box to help each student develop their own unique potential.
For anyone thinking of immigrating to Taiwan, consider Hsinchu or Zhubei as a new alternative, and experience the vitality of this young and international city.
For more information:
Karl International Experimental Education Institute: https://www.karlschool.org/index.html
Johan International Experimental Education Institute: https://www.johanschool.org/
Hsinchu Science Park: https://www.sipa.gov.tw/
Hsinchu County Service Center, National Immigration Agency: https://servicestation.immigration.gov.tw/3493/
Related Links :
https://www.karlschool.org/
