Taiwan’s education not so popularBy Julien Oeuillet 曾樂昂On Feb. 7, the New York Times ran a column by Nicholas Kristof (“What if the valedictorians were America’s cool kids?”) that blindly and lavishly praised education in Taiwan and in Asia more broadly. If Taiwanese education looks so wonderful through the eyes of the archetypal expat, gazing from an ivory tower, how is it that every Taiwanese parent I meet utterly loathes it? All of them are vocally critical of what they perceive as a monstrously antiquated, inefficient, counterproductive and borderline abusive education system, without exception. Their opposition to Taiwan’s education system is not always visible at first, because they comply with it, but this is largely because they believe they have no choice. For that reason, I believe the only thing standing between Taiwan’s education system and meaningful reform is the lack of awareness among frustrated parents that they are not alone.

Source: Taipei Times February 24, 2026 17:44 UTC