The New Taipei City Education Department yesterday said it would inspect a major preschool operator following recent reports of alleged child abuse, warning that contraventions could result in penalties, including the revocation of its operational permit.
The department said that it would carry out a full inspection within a week of all 10 preschools under the Yu-Chuan group, with possible penalties ranging from reduced enrollment to suspension of enrollment, suspension of operations and revocation of its operational permit.
Separately, the department's Division of Early Childhood Education said it has a zero-tolerance policy for the mistreatment of children and would investigate, punish and publicly announce contraventions in accordance with the law, while also penalizing preschools for lapses in supervision and management.
Photo: CNA
The responses came after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lin Yueh-chin (林月琴) at a press event accused the preschool operator of illegally employing unqualified staff, repeatedly breaching regulations over multiple years and treating children improperly.
The event was attended by Lin, Jing Chuan Child Safety Foundation executive director Hsu Ya-jen (許雅荏) and representatives of families affected by alleged child abuse.
From 2020 to last year, the Yu-Chuan group's 18 preschools in New Taipei City and Taoyuan were repeatedly penalized for employing unqualified staff, yet oversight failures allowed the problem to persist, Lin said.
Citing an incident at the group’s Tucheng preschool in August last year, Lin said that surveillance showed an employee surnamed Tseng (曾) repeatedly pulling, pushing and hitting children many times over four days.
At least five children were affected, yet the case was closed after a fine of just NT$30,000 was paid, Lin said.
The city's Education Department at the time only provided summary reports, preventing parents from fully understanding what their children experienced, she said.
During the press event, a mother surnamed Tsai (蔡) called on the government to carry out thorough evaluations and inspections, and urged the preschool operator to honestly address its mistakes.
The parents of allegedly affected children made four demands, including a reassessment of cases to determine if heavier penalties are warranted, a full inspection of all preschools under the group while new enrollments are suspended, a registry to prevent unqualified staff from moving to other preschools, and the provision of complete surveillance footage and investigation reports to parents.
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