The Taoyuan City Government today announced that it would subsidize textbooks for all public and private elementary and junior-high students starting in August.
The city is to invest about NT$643 million (US$20.12 million) per school year for the program, including NT$321.5 million for the next school term, which is to be covered by the Taoyuan Department of Education’s Local Education Development Fund, Taoyuan Mayor Simon Chang (張善政) said.
Future funding would be incorporated into the formal budget process to sustain the policy, he added.
Photo: Cheng Shu-ting, Taipei Times
The move would benefit up to 196,000 children, with each student expected to save between NT$1,500 and NT$1,900 per semester, he said.
Taoyuan would be the first of Taiwan’s six special municipalities to fully subsidize textbooks, he said.
The policy would not only reduce the financial burden for parents, but allow those funds to be invested in other educational materials to expand children’s learning experience, he added.
After taking office in 2022, Chang implemented a free school lunch policy for all public and private elementary and junior-high students in the city.
In February, the local government also began offering free fresh milk for kindergarten and elementary-school children.
Once textbooks are fully subsidized, families would only have to cover expenses such as uniforms and parent association fees from the next semester onward, Chang said.
Taoyuan has the lowest average age, highest birthrate and fastest growing population of Taiwan’s municipalities, he said.
Therefore, the city government must support parents with various expenses to combat the effects of Taiwan’s aging population, he added.
In related news, the New Taipei City Government today announced that it would offer free school lunches to all elementary and junior-high students starting on Aug. 31.
The policy would benefit about 323,000 students, with an annual budget of NT$4.84 billion, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said.
Initial funding is to come from advanced payments, with a formal budget allocation to be incorporated next year, he said.
It is to include a fixed subsidy of NT$75 per meal, with NT$60 to cover fees previously paid by parents and NT$15 allocated by the government for ingredients, the New Taipei City Department of Education said.
The policy is expected to save families NT$12,000 per year, it added.
Additional reporting by CNA
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