TAIPEI, July 15 (Xinhua) -- A total of 125,492 students in Taiwan have enrolled in high schools, leaving nearly 80,000 vacancies in such schools' enrollment target for this year, according to the island's education authorities.
In accordance with an enrollment target for this year, high schools on the island plan to enroll 202,123 students with no tests. They, however, just had 145,800 students applying for pursuing further studies and admitted 144,063 applicants only, said the authorities.
Authorities also expect the number of new enrollments at high schools to continue to drop in the coming years, with particular impact on private schools.
Experts have attributed the phenomenon to the falling birth rate in Taiwan. Figures showed only 181,000 babies were born there last year, 7.2 percent fewer than the previous year.
