Hsinchu City has handed the preparatory work for converting Chien-hua Junior High School into a complete secondary school to substitute teachers. The substitute teachers' union has come out against the arrangement, saying it serves neither the teachers nor the students.

• Chien-hua Junior High is to be upgraded into a municipal complete secondary school, but its preparatory office is short of administrative staff.
• Instead of assigning full-time personnel from within its established staffing structure, the city government has recruited substitute teachers on one-year contracts under a "subject unrestricted" designation to fill the gap.
• The union says this breaches the rules: under the law, substitute teachers may not take on administrative duties in school offices, as their primary role should be teaching.
• The preparatory work involves budgeting, tendering for school building works, procurement and coordination across government departments, all of which carry legal responsibility and should not be placed on teachers employed on one-year contracts.
• The union is calling on the Ministry of Education to launch an investigation, on the city government to halt this method of recruitment, and for full-time personnel to be assigned to the school as soon as possible.

Outlook: The pressure now falls on whether the Ministry of Education will step in to investigate, and whether the Hsinchu City Government will switch to assigning personnel on its formal establishment.