Hsinchu City mayoral candidate Chuang Ching-cheng has put forward five education policies aimed at lightening the load on frontline teachers — good news for teachers and parents, and a move that pushes education onto the agenda of the mayoral race.

• The five policies address class sizes, administrative work, psychological support, special education and campus disputes.
• A pledge to reduce class sizes year by year, giving priority to schools with fast population growth and heavy burdens.
• An education administration support centre would be set up and an AI platform introduced, so that teachers spend less time filling in forms and more time teaching.
• Psychological counselling for teachers would shift to a "6+6" arrangement, with up to 12 sessions a year, along with a cross-year system to prevent services from being interrupted.
• The current city government has been criticised over having the worst student-teacher ratio in Taiwan and over teachers' counselling quotas being used up, casting doubt on its pledge of "quality at every school".

Outlook: Education policy has become the main battleground in the Hsinchu mayoral race, and the incumbent city government is expected to have to respond to criticism over the student-teacher ratio and inadequate support resources for teachers.