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Taipei - Taiwan's education ministry wants students to tell eight jokes in English before they can graduate, but many teachers view the new policy as a joke instead.

In a decree on August 28, the education ministry suggested that vocational schools and technical colleges should revise their curriculum to improve the standard of the students, the United Daily News (UDN) reported on Tuesday.

Regarding English, the ministry suggested that each student must be able to sing at least eight English songs and tell eight jokes as part of the graduation exam. Those who fail cannot graduate.

But many teachers and school principles described the suggestion as funny or ridiculous.

Lee Ming-hui, principle of the Taiwan Hospitality and Tourism College, said if a student was training to become a tour guide for foreigners, then maybe they should learn to sing songs and tell jokes in a foreign language.

"But for other students, when they take an English exam, the exam should be related to their specialty," he told UDN.

Lee Chia-tong, a well-known English teacher and the principle of the National Chi Nan University, said students should memorize English words and read English textbooks.

"I think the education ministry has missed the target. If singing songs and tellings jokes is the requirement for passing the graduation exam, what if a student sings poorly or tells sick jokes? Should the school allow the student to graduate?" the UDN quoted him as saying.//DPA