He called on lawmakers to amend the National University School Affairs Fund Establishment Act (國立大學校院校務基金設置條例) to require that the budgeting and spending of such funds be reviewed by a panel comprised of members from all branches that take part in school affairs meetings, saying that without such a mechanism, the fund is susceptible to misuse. Taiwan’s 49 national universities have about NT$113 billion (US$3.7 billion) at their disposal annually, National Taiwanese University College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science professor Wu Ruey-beei (吳瑞北) said. However, an amendment to the act in 2015 changed the way in which school affairs fund auditors are staffed, allowing them to be directly appointed by university presidents, Wu said. This made the presidents both the users and auditors of their funds, which hurts the rights of the faculty and students alike, he said. Some NTU professors and officials have deliberately misled the media by downplaying the issue of university presidents having been given the power to appoint auditors for their funds, she said.

Source: Taipei Times November 19, 2019 15:56 UTC