Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) yesterday said he is negotiating with the central government to obtain funding for a promised increase to a private preschool subsidy.
Chiang was responding to a statement from Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City Councilor Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶), who on Monday said that the administration of former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) did not allocate a budget for the subsidy.
Ko in October last year announced that the city’s per semester subsidy to help cover the cost of tuition for children at private preschools would increase from NT$13,660 to NT$25,880 per student.
Photo: Tien Su-hua, Taipei Times
He said the policy would be implemented by next month at the earliest.
The Taipei Department of Education at the time said the policy would reduce the private preschool tuition burden for students aged two to four by about NT$2,000 per child each month.
With the new semester to begin next month, Wu asked if Chiang would implement the policy and “pay the bills” for Ko.
While campaigning last year, Chiang proposed offering an annual subsidy of NT$50,000 for each student in private preschools per year, which is about NT$1,760 less than Ko’s policy, Wu said.
Chiang’s administration needs to clarify which plan he would implement next month, she said.
Chiang said that he promised to increase the subsidy and is negotiating with the central government on the issue to try to implement the policy as soon as possible.
Asked if he would propose a budget add-on to fund the increased subsidy, he said plans for implementing the policy are being discussed, and he would explain it to the public as soon as they are finalized.
Regarding a rumor that the central government might reduce funding for Taipei’s early childhood education in response to the city continuously increasing its budget for students to attend private preschools, Chiang said he was in communication with the central government.
He said he believes the Taipei City Government and the central government share the goal of wanting to help reduce the financial burden on young parents and provide a better educational environment.
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