「發展」還是「存廢」？在政策流轉中的偏鄉學校

On to Transform or to Abolish Schools in Rural or Remote Areas

偏鄉因自然地理等環境限制了地方發展，再加臺灣近年少子化的問題嚴重，使得偏鄉學校的教育問題受到社會關注，政府企圖以政策扭轉偏鄉學校的發展，但偏鄉學校的命運就在政策間流轉，到底應往何處？政府於2017年頒定《偏遠地區學校教育發展條例》，是以差異化社會正義為原則追求教育機會均等，期透過強化教育措施、寬列經費、彈性運用人事及提高教師福利措施等，解決偏遠地區學校辦學的困境，保障偏遠地區學童受教的權益。《偏遠地區學校教育發展條例》實施之後，的確為偏鄉教育注入一股活力，使得在存廢中掙扎的小校找到永續發展的契機。透過「教育公平」觀點及教育現場的回饋發現，該條例的公布施行對於提升偏遠地區學校教育品質確有助益，然部分條文的落實仍有其難度，仍需進一步調整修訂，以符合偏鄉學校所面臨的困境，讓偏鄉學校的命運能有新的啟航方向，不再隨政策流轉。

Remote villages have limited local development due to the physical geography and other circumstances. In addition, the problem of decriminalization in Taiwan has been serious in recent years. As a result, the education of local village schools has attracted public attention. The government attempts to reverse the development of local village schools through policies. Circulating between policies, where should we go? The government issued the “Regulations on the Development of School Education in Remote Areas” in 2017 to pursue equal opportunities in education based on the principle of differentiated social justice, with a view to addressing remote areas through strengthening education measures, widening funds, using personnel flexibly, and improving teacher welfare measures. The predicament of running a school guarantees the teaching rights of students in remote areas. The implementation of the “Regulations on the Development of School Education in Remote Areas” has indeed injected vitality into education in remote villages, making it possible for small schools struggling to survive and abandon to find opportunities for sustainable development. From the perspective of “educational fairness” and feedback from the education scene, it is found that the implementation of the regulations is indeed helpful to the overall improvement of the quality of school education in remote areas. However, the implementation of some provisions is still difficult. The dilemma they faced has given the school of fate a new set of sailing directions and no longer flow with the policy.