A school in Taiwan has become the first public school in the region to offer the South Australian senior secondary curriculum to its students.
Zhong Zheng Senior High School in Taipei City signed a partnership agreement on March 7 with the South Australian Certificate of Education Board.
SACE, which is taught across South Australia, is an internationally recognised qualification that aims to “equip students with the skills, knowledge, and personal capabilities to successfully participate in our fast-paced global society”.
Students at Zhong Zheng School will study the SACE curriculum alongside the Taiwanese National senior secondary program, giving them the chance to graduate with two qualifications.
The Executive Yuan, the governing body in Taiwan, announced in 2018 its goal to develop Taiwan into a “bilingual nation by 2030, with the aim of raising the level of English proficiency among the public and improving the country’s overall national competitiveness”.
The introduction of the SACE qualification supports this goal by offering English language education to Taiwanese students.
“The world continues to evolve with what it needs from students, and it’s much more than traditional skills and knowledge. What students need, and what SACE provides, are the capabilities and the ability to assess and shape the world and make it work for them,” said Martin Westwell, SACE board chief executive.
“This partnership reaffirms the strong education links between Australia and Taiwan and gives Taiwanese students a direct pathway to pursue tertiary studies at Australia’s globally renowned educational institutions,” said Jenny Bloomfield, Australian representative in Taiwan.
“The program ensures that students are not just regurgitating knowledge on the day of an exam”
SACE’s international program was first launched 30 years ago in Malaysia and the qualification is now at select schools in China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Vanuatu and New Caledonia.
Westell told The PIE News that SACE is the “certificate of choice” for many students because of its “sophisticated assessment model”.
“Rather than rushing to perform in an exam at the end of the year, the SACE program better prepares students to work in a similar way to what is required for university,” he said.
“The program ensures that students are not just regurgitating knowledge on the day of an exam, but demonstrate they have learnt how to think, and have learnt to apply their own judgement to their knowledge.”
Over 40,000 students have graduated from SACE’s international program since its inception.
