TAIPEI -- The number of candidates signing up for a standard exam to enter high schools in Taiwan dropped to a record low of 202,547 this year, the island's education department said Sunday.

The number of candidates for 2021 was 6,500 less than the previous year, because of the effect of low birth rate in Taiwan, the department said in a press release.

The exam is normally taken by junior middle school graduates who intend to go to high schools or vocational schools of the same level. The result of the exam will be a major criterion for admission when candidates compete for vacancies of a certain high school.

Meanwhile, the number of students in all education institutes in Taiwan totaled around 4.21 million in 2020, down 890,000 from 2011 and 49,000 fewer than 2019, according to the department.

In 2020, the number of high school students decreased the most, down 33,000 from 2019.

Due to fewer students, some private and vocational schools have stopped recruiting new students and have even closed down over the last few years.

Lan Yang Institute of Technology in Yilan county of northern Taiwan stopped taking in new students in 2021. The number of students on campus has dropped from around 10,000 at its highest to 300 now.