Taiwan’s Ministry of Education is worried that with so many students entering first grade already knowing zhuyin fuhao, having learned it from their parents or at a buxiban (cram school) or preschool, some teachers are neglecting to ensure that all their students have a thorough grounding in this script. Since zhuyin is used to help teach students Chinese characters, a lack of proficiency in reading zhuyin could severely hamper a child’s ability to perform well in school.

I’ve seen reports from China of related worries there — but regarding Pinyin, not zhuyin, of course.

The original article in Chinese characters is no longer online, so I’m supplying the full text in Pinyin (which is all I have now).

Kāixué le, duì xiǎo yī xīnshēng láishuō, zhùyīn fúhào shì yǔwén lǐngyù de zhòngdiǎn, yuē xū shàngkè 10 zhōu, què yīn bùshǎo yòuzhìyuán yǐ tíqián jiāo guò, bùfen xiǎo yī lǎoshī yǐ duōshù xuésheng yǐ xuéhuì, lüèguò bù jiāo. Jiàoyùbù zuótiān zhǐchū, rúguǒ yǒu zhèizhǒng qíngxing, jiāzhǎng yīnggāi xiàng lǎoshī hé xuéxiào fǎnyìng.

Jiǔ nián yīguàn kèchéng guīdìng, xiǎo yī shàng xuéqī jiùyào shúxí, rèn dú, zhèngquè shūxiě zhùyīn fúhào yǐjí pīnyīn fāngfǎ, Jiàoyùbù guójiào sī guānyuán biǎoshì, wǎngnián dōu yǒu bùshǎo jiāzhǎng tóusù, bàoyuàn xiǎo yī de lǎoshī yīnwèi bān shàng duōshù xuésheng yǐjing xuéhuì zhùyīn fúhào, shěnglüè bù jiāo, yǐngxiǎng qítā xuésheng de shòujiào quán.

Jiàoyùbù zhōngyāng kèchéng yǔ jiāoxué yǔwén kē fǔdǎo zīxún lǎoshī Wú Huì-huā zhǐchū, shàngxué qīyuē yǒu 21 dào 22 zhōu, gēnjù kèchéng ānpái, xiǎo yī zhùyīn fúhào yào shàng 10 zhōu, zhīhòu lǎoshī huì kāishǐ jiāo guózì.

Wú Huì-huā shuō, gè bǎnběn kèběn yǒuguān zhùyīn fúhào jiàofǎ bùtóng, xiànzài yǐ hěn shǎo ànzhào zìmǔ shùnxù, yǒude zhào mǔyīn, yǒude zé ànzhào kèběn nèiróng, rú “xiǎo bái’é, ài chànggē” zhōng, huì xiān jiāo bǐjiào jiǎndān de “ㄅ” “ㄍ” děng, bùshǎo lǎoshī dàgài lìyòng 8, 9 zhōu shàng wán, jiēzhe tì xuésheng fùxí.

Wú Huì-huā shuō, bùshǎo jiāzhǎng pà lǎoshī bù jiāo zhùyīn fúhào, háizi shū zài qǐpǎoxiàn shàng, yīncǐ shàng yòuzhìyuán shí, huò xiǎo yī rùxué qián, jiùràng háizi xiān xué, huò qù bǔxí.

Gēnjù guānchá, xiǎo yīshēng yuē yǒu 6, 7 chéng yǐ huì zhùyīn fúhào, dàn chéngdu luòchā hěn dà, bùshǎo xuésheng kàn le huì niàn, dàn pīnxiě bù chūlai.

Wú Huì-huā biǎoshì, jíshǐ bān shàng yībàn yǐshàng xuésheng dōu yǐ xuéhuì zhùyīn fúhào, lǎoshī háishi yīnggāi ànzhào kèbiǎo shàngkè, yóuqí bùnéng fàngqì hái bù huì de xuésheng, gèng yào zhùyì chéngdu shàng de luòchā.

Zhùyīn fúhào jí pīnzì shì guówén zhòngyào jīchǔ, Wú Huì-huā shuō, jiāzhǎng měitiān kě huā yīdiǎn shíjiān, yào háizi lǎngdú shàngkè de nèiróng, tì háizi fùxí, duì háizi xuéxíhuì yǒu bāngzhù, dàn bùbì tài jiāolǜ, bùxū wéixué zhùyīn fúhào qù bǔxí.

source: Xiǎo yī bù jiāo zhùyīn — jiāzhǎng kě fǎnyìng (小一不教注音 家長可反映), September 1, 2006