Rules on school closures needed By Chen Tien-ting 陳添丁 On Dec. 30, the Ministry of Education published the college and university enrollment rates for the 2020-2021 academic year, showing that a dozen schools had freshman enrollment rates below 60 percent, up from six the year before. The number of high-school graduates registering for the General Scholastic Ability Test on Friday next week and Jan. 23 set a new low, showing that the effects of the nation’s low birthrate on higher education are indisputable. Under such circumstances, legislation for closing private senior-high schools, junior colleges and above bears no delay. Late last year, the Cabinet resubmitted draft regulations for such legislation to the Legislative Yuan for a review. Judging from the draft title, the scope has been extended from colleges to senior-high schools, and the word “transformation” has been deleted in the resubmitted draft to focus on school closures, highlighting the urgency of the matter.