The Taiwan Early Childhood Education Association on Tuesday called on President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to make good on her campaign promise and raise the monthly child-rearing subsidy for preschoolers from NT$2,500 to NT$5,000.
The number of newborn babies last year dipped to a nine-year low of 177,767, association president Hung Yi-shen (洪懿聲) said, adding that the number of newborns in the first four months of this year totaled only 53,278.
The low birthrate has become a “national security threat,” Hung said.
Child-rearing subsidy programs target different age groups — zero to two; two to five; and five or older — and are handled by different government agencies, Hung said.
For instance, a program for five-year-olds covers children who are enrolled in kindergartens, but not those who are home-schooled, he said.
The subsidies need to be unified and doubled, he added.
During her re-election campaign, Tsai promised parents that the government would share their burden of raising children up to six years old and double the subsidy to NT$60,000 a year, he said, urging the Tsai administration to expedite the efforts.
Civic groups formed by private kindergarten executives have repeatedly clamored for across-the-board subsidies for children aged two to six, and that the amount be raised to NT$5,000 per month, Hung said.
In addition, parents should be allowed to claim the subsidies in an annual lump sum, which would facilitate the application process, he said.
These moves would make for a truly child-oriented subsidy scheme, which would motivate more couples to have children, he said.
Tsai should place improving child-rearing subsidies high on her priority list as she starts her second term, he said.
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