A plan to allow military conscripts serving for one year to complete their service and university education in four years is expected in June. That’s according to Education Minister Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) while answering lawmakers’ questions on Wednesday.
Authorities announced last December that mandatory military service for all males would be extended from the current four months to one year beginning in 2024. That month, a Defense Ministry memo said the Education Ministry was developing a “3+1” plan to allow conscripts to finish their service and university education in four years. Taiwanese undergraduate degrees typically take a minimum of four years to complete.
Pan says the ministry is currently working on supporting measures for the plan and expects to announce them before the end of June. He says because of differences in the length of study for different majors, the ministry is carefully listening to various universities and student groups.
But some student groups and university educators criticize the 3+1 plan. Some say many majors are already difficult to complete in four years, making three years clearly insufficient. Others say the plan would not give students time to complete internships, which are key in many fields.