it has to go to the person who made the decision to have the college entrance examinations this week despite the typhoon. For the past three days, I have been watching hapless students fighting wind and rain to get into the testing centers. This morning was positively dangerous here in Taichung, and seeing TV coverage from around the country, it is obvious Taichung wasn’t alone.
For him, I give him :loco:
The college entrance exam is holy in Chinese society. Unless the worlds ends, most Chinese people will brave whatever to do it.
You think it is an accident Chinese people are considered over-represented in Institutions of higher learning worldwide.
[quote=“ac_dropout”]The college entrance exam is holy in Chinese society. Unless the worlds ends, most Chinese people will brave whatever to do it.
You think it is an accident Chinese people are considered over-represented in Institutions of higher learning worldwide.[/quote]
Students in Taitung and other counties are complaining that it wasn’t fair and that it should have been postponed. Nearly EVERYONE I have talked to regarding this the past couple of days in class also agree that it should have been postponed. I will be seeing several students who actually took the exam next week. It will be interested to hear their perspectives.
AC - if you are in Taipei, you have NO IDEA how conditions in other parts of Taiwan are. Apparently, things in Taipei aren’t that bad, but here in Taichung and other parts of Taiwan, there have been floods and in Taitung and Hualien, there were heavy winds.
That guy’s head should roll over this decision.
People are dying in this storm and you want to hold the exam because this is holy. You really are one sick individual.
chinapost.com.tw/detail.asp?ID=50292&GRP=A
Lawmakers from at least three different parties have criticized the decision. The attitude toward Taitung students because they only make up 2% of the total number of test takers is absolutely appalling.
There is NO WAY students should have been forced to make the trek out this morning in Taichung.
These TSU lawmakers are correct. At the very least, the person making the final decision should be sacked on Monday morning (if not sooner.)
AC - cut it with your “Chinese” pride. It has no place in this particular situation.
ludahai,
The test is nation wide. If they postpone it for 1 area, the whole nation needs to be postponed. This is the only way the insure everyone get a fair shot without the questions leaking to the public. Some people fly in from overseas to take this exam.
So I’m not being overly unrealistic and understand why the exam was not postponed.
[quote=“ac_dropout”]ludahai,
The test is nation wide. If they postpone it for 1 area, the whole nation needs to be postponed. This is the only way the insure everyone get a fair shot without the questions leaking to the public. Some people fly in from overseas to take this exam.
So I’m not being overly unrealistic and understand why the exam was not postponed.[/quote]
The exam should have been postponned for the entire country.
This test is the sole reason for existence for many Taiwanese kids and parents, as ac_dropout points out. A few potentially dead or sick kids would not be enough to call it off.
You guys are really sick. Fortunately, most Taiwanese I have spoken with, as well as legislators from at least three parties (KMT, DPP, and TSU) agree with me.
ludahai,
Their kids are probably too dumb to make it into ROC college and are sent overseas to attend community college in North America.
Hindsight is 20/20 as they say.
You mean the rain, winds and flooding from the Typhoon were a suprise that could not have been predicted?
There are dozens of hurricanes passing through Taiwan every year. Who knew this one was going to be this bad?
Weather prediction is still grounded in choas theory if that give you an idea what kind of exact science it is.
[quote=“ac_dropout”]There are dozens of hurricanes passing through Taiwan every year. Who knew this one was going to be this bad?
Weather prediction is still grounded in choas theory if that give you an idea what kind of exact science it is.[/quote]
DOZENS passing THROUGH Taiwan every year.
Why do you have to keep giving us evidence that you are completely bonkers?
The sheer unpredicability of the storm should have been enough to postpone the exams. If they wen’t by earlier predictions of where the storm was going, there would have been MORE reason for postponment because it was expected to lash the west side of the country going up the Formosa/Taiwan Strait.
Even the simple task of “talking about the weather” ends up in a debate.
chinapost.com.tw/detail.asp?ID=50314&GRP=A
[quote]Due to the swelling flood waters at some school campuses in central Taiwan, many entrants had to wear slippers to enter the classrooms.
As a result, many students were soaked with water or injured by rocks and tree branches or tripped in the rapidly flowing waters.
Electricity at many classrooms was cut due to regional power failures.[/quote]
etaiwannews.com/Taiwan/2004/ … 912027.htm
taipeitimes.com/News/front/a … 2003177600
And AC-Dropout believes that the test should not have been postponed. I think the only people who believe that are in the Taipei area, unsurprising because Taipei didn’t get hit like the center, south, and east did.
Some people are so idiotic that they would find a way to argue about the level of boredom one attains from watching grass grow!
They should have postponed the exams island-wide…
The CWB knew at least four days in advance that Mindulle would strike somewhere in Taiwan. Also the fact the the storm lingered over a small area(picking up millions of tons of water) for two full days before striking should have been enough to sound alarm bells…
As a long-term resident, I understand the importance of the exams, but putting the students in danger to take them is just plain silly. Someone seriously f----d up here, and a student who has spend months/years preparing should not have to be subjected to falling rocks, road floods, knockdown winds and general stupidity. I couldn’t write the alphabet in those conditions, let alone decide my academic future.
Despite the administrative nightmare that would have been caused by postponing, It would have been the prudent thing to do so IMHO.
isn’t it time they put this feudal beastie to bed for good? the ACT/SAT tests are offered multiple times. no biggie. why not let the colleges decide which students they want to select?
Yes so what about all those oversea Chinese that prepared thier ticket months in advance to take the test and those coming in from the outlying islands in ROC. It is not so simple for them to delay taking the exam.
ROC test is an absolute exam into college. Unless your like the top 3 students in the top highschools in ROC that is only way to college.
There is no subjective score of an application and teacher’s recommendations plus extra cirricular activities like the USA.
Either you make the cut off or not.
People can opted not to take the exam that day and report within 10 days to take a make up. But those people will of course get different questions. And if they don’t make it in they will of course complain the make up question were harder or different than the question given on the first day.
I guess it is just a testiment to ROC value system and how it regard these exams. I would not be surprise if PRC attacked that ROC would continue with the exams. Every year there are news reports of some student that passes out due to heat exhaustion taking these exams.
The obvious answer is to set up more testing centers . . . . . . even “mini testing centers” in remote areas . . . . . . . so that the students would not have to travel so far.
Yes, this is another ridiculous anacronism that has to go.