亞洲鄰近國家公費留學制度之比較研究

Abstract

源自清朝末年(1872 年)首次選派30 名聰穎幼童赴美留學以來，迄政府遷台後恢復的五十餘年間，在促進過往中國的現代化與協助台灣向世界接軌的進程中，扮演著功不可沒的角色。期間隨著國內社會轉型、經濟條件的改善與高等教育擴張等影響，公費留學制度的功能與角色亦隨之發生重大調整，如: 過去的培養少數冷門科系與基礎研究與擢拔優秀人才等特殊功能，已在時代新的需求下進行調整。其中要以今年(2010) 的返國服務規定改變最為重大。根據舊制規定，凡學成者必須在規定期限下歸國服務， 但在今年初行政院召開全國人才培育會議中，為了呼應全球人才布局之建議，考量近年來國內博士學位人數的拒曾導致畢業生求職困難等情況，加上臺灣留學生在國外學術及研究機構發展者日益減少，與進一步透過全球人才布局，來延伸台灣與世界的接軌之迫切需要，教育部首度放寬返國服務規定，改為延長國外大學畢業後十五年內返國服務即可，期間須在由具公信力評鑑機構認定排名的世界百大企業或大學任職，藉此在海外培養工作實力，達成與國際聲望機構的人才相連結的理想及影響力。然而，公費留學畢竟涉及全民的稅收來源， 按理應有較為嚴格的法令約束。就公共政策而言，公共人才的培育及運用皆有一訂的規準，上述返國期限的放寬，所基於的政策考量是否周全?配套措施是否完整？公費留學生未來返國服務的權利及義務該如何訂定？除了目前十五年內返國規定外，公費留學制度的相關設計是否應與國家全體人才培育(包括政府各部會、企業界、研究部門及高等教育機構相結合，以做全盤性的綜合考量? 這些都值得進一步探討。尤其公費留學已經成為許多國家培養特殊專才、吸引人才回歸的重要途徑和手段，對國際社會的發展也產生了重要的影響。留學生不僅是高等教育國際化的有形指標，而且也成為世界上綜合國力競爭的重要標的。所以，許多政府都提供資源予以關注和扶持，例如，日本、韓國、中國及新加坡等，在紛紛建構世界一流大學、加強師、生國際交流之餘，仍然重視以公費留學來引導特殊人才培育、進行全球人力布局之政策。有鑑於此，本計畫擬針對上述國家如何在全球化浪潮及國內社會變遷之際，如何調整公費留學制度，因應各國高級人才之培育工作進行深入探討，並進行五國公費留學制度之比較分析，期能作為我國未來公費留學制度政策興革之參考與借鏡。

From the late Qing dynasty (1872), the first group of 30 bright young children was sent on the government-funded program to study in the United States. This program was carried on by the ROC government which relocated in Taiwan after 1955 and has served the role of national modernization and talent cultivation ever since. As time passed by, this public-funded overseas study program was also under great pressure for system reform in order to meet the need of Taiwan’s domestic social transformation, economic development and the expansion of higher education. Among the system re-structuring proposals, the delayed service obligation after graduation from overseas university ranks the number one unprecedented change. Under the old provisions, a scholarship recipient must return to Taiwan within the stipulated period. But from this year, under services held Executive Yuan national talents Conference, the Ministry of Education echoes whose global talent layout proposal, and passed this new regulation under the consideration of the Ph. D. oversupply and the declining number of Taiwan students studying and working abroad. The new rule allows student to extend up to 15 years after his// her graduation as long as finding employment in the top 100 world-largest companies or universities. However, since this national scholarship involves sources of public revenue, the program should be under more strict regulation. On what basis of policy considerations does the relaxation of return period hold? How to regulate and follow up scholarship recipient’s obligations fulfillment? Whether or not the current system is tailored to collaborate with other public-funded programs, and in what way? These questions remain unknown and deserve further examination. In so doing, it is worthwhile to investigate neighboring Asian nations such as Korea, Japan, China, and Singapore, who also provide public resources and scholarship to support overseas study. The current research project is an attempt to examine how the public-funded overseas study policy is formed to meet the need of globalization and domestic social change not only in Taiwan, but also in those targeted countries. Contrast and comparison will be conducted in order to identify policy making and implication among these five nations in regard to the status quo and reform agenda of such scholarship system.