Major Policies

Ministry of Education Human Rights and Civic Education Mid-Range Plan Overview

• Date：2019-08-15

I.Origins

The current education policy is based on a student-centered education system, which emphasizes the learning process of the learner. It encourages students to build up aptitude in human rights and civic literacy, as well as endowing youths with an attitude and proactiveness towards involvement in both domestic and international public affairs, in line with the trends of globalization and localization. It also demonstrates an emphasis to boost the international competitiveness of students. Under this plan, students are expected to possess a stance and behave in accordance to “high moral standards, heavy emphasis on gratitude, comprehension of the rule of law, and respect for human rights” in both their personal life and the public domain They should understand values such as human rights, equality, freedom, and justice, thereby exhibiting a proactive and positive attitude in picking up the responsibilities of a citizen. This is an important aspect of the education system.

 II.Duration of Implementation

The duration of the project’s implementation lasts for a total of 5 years – from January 1, 2017 through December 31, 2022.

 III.Plan Objective

1. The continued strengthening of understanding on human rights, civic education, and related human rights conventions among faculty, students, and administrative personnel of all school levels, identifying with human rights, civic consciousness, and related human rights convention values. By invigorating these values and integrating them into various coursework and programs, the approach seeks to create a friendly learning environment at schools, where teachers respect the rights of students and implement related values into day-to-day life.

2. The continued facilitation of channels which allows student involvement in public affairs and the establishment of mechanisms for participation, communication, and evaluation. These measures help to cultivate rational analysis and tolerance for other people’s opinions among students, helping them develop democratic and egalitarian values of self-rule and self-discipline. 

3. Integration of diverse resources across public, community, and private sectors; expand and enrich the talent pool of teachers in the fields of human rights, civic education, related human rights conventions, operation of deliberative democracy, and aptitude for civic actions, to work in line with the promotion of the nation’s 12-year compulsive education program, as well as develop courses and instruction materials.

4. Continuation of promotion experience in human rights, civic education, and related human rights conventions, with an emphasis on forward looking planning and in-depth cultivation to create a friendly education environment characterized by realization of human rights protection, as well as emphasis on values such as civic responsibilities, mutual respect, and tolerance.

5. Ingraining of safety awareness and victimization prevention perspectives among students and raising awareness among students regarding children’s rights convention and rights guarantee for children and youths. Promotion of family education with contents complying with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and guarantee with rights related to children and youths to safeguard the development of children’s mind and body as well as promoting children and youth welfare.

 IV.Principles of Implementation

1. Systemization: With students as the target for learning, the plan utilizes school classes and construction of human rights environment to create a school environment friendly to civic participation and rich in human rights, allowing for systematic cultivation of human rights and civic aptitudes of students during each stage of education.

2. Integration: Unify and integrate administrative and human resources of the ministry, local governments, and NGOs to optimize the results of promoting human rights, civic education, and related human rights conventions.

3. Comprehensiveness: Strengthen the incorporation of human rights, civic education, and contents of related human rights conventions into each subject and each teaching activity; grasping the degree of connectiveness in the aspects of promotion and dissemination.

4. Practicableness: Promote the implementation of human rights education principle, civic aptitude, and related human rights conventions into personal, family, and social life, as well as practice and utilization of these factors in daily activities and incorporation into personal thoughts and behaviors.

5. Continuity: Emphasize the coherence and continuity of human rights, civic education, and related human rights conventions, as well as implementing tracking and improvement mechanism to enhance the effectiveness of promotion efforts.

6. Foresight: Fully grasping social and global trends and combining them with novel issues and human rights cases to cultivate students’ learning and response capabilities to adapt to the changes of future environments.

V.Implementation Strategy

To push forth towards the objectives of promoting human rights and civic education, this plan devises 4 implementation strategies in the following order: (1) Create and manage a friendly school environment that respects human rights and encourages public participation; (2) develop and implement human rights and civic education courses and teaching materials; (3) strengthen the aptitude of teachers in professional ethics and human rights, civic knowledge, and the rule of law; (4) disseminate and promote the principles of human rights and civic education through action and practice. For promoting human rights convention courses or activities and development of teaching materials or cases for the present period, emphasis should be placed on the development of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and other human rights conventions.

 VI.Anticipated Results

1. Integrate resources among executive agencies and NGOs in promoting human rights, civic education, related human rights conventions, and deliberative democracy; assist schools and community in the planning of promotion of human rights, civic education, and deliberative democracy in the interest of consolidating the roots of democracy, realizing mutual respects among people, as well as tolerance and a spirit of compassion.

2. Enhance the principles and understanding of education personnel in the area of human rights, civic education, and deliberative democracy through research and study activities on human rights, civic education, related human rights conventions, and deliberative democracy, in the interest of incorporating the spirit of human rights, civic education, the knowhow about the way in which deliberative democracy works, and attitude for civic actions into each classroom courses and teaching activities.

3. Creating an atmosphere for human rights and civic education centering on students as the main subject of learning. Cultivate the students’ ability in reflecting and debating human rights concepts and improve their aptitude for democracy through the implementation of related human rights conventions and deliberative democracy. Being equipped with the will and capability for civic action and by implementing the ideas into their daily life, they will understand their respective rights and duties, as well as acquiring a civic attitude of respecting others.

4. Through the promotion of concepts of human rights, civic education, related human rights conventions, and deliberative democracy, we seek to connect with the global community and implement our responsibilities as citizens of the world, thereby boosting the “soft power” of the country’s overall competitiveness.