To ease the financial pressure of child-rearing, the Taipei City Government announced a couple of new measures that would benefit parents of more than 20,000 local preschoolers. Starting today, five-year-olds in Taipei can receive tuition-free education at local public day care centers, while those in private centers are en

Ministry of Education's plan to waive tuition on the country's five-year-olds will be implemented nationwide. However, the program would exclude families whose annual income exceeds NT$1.1 million.

Before the national policy goes into effect, Taipei City Government announced officially that starting September first, 5-year-old kids, who are registered as Taipei city residents, will enjoy free tuition fee benefits if they go to public

daycare center.

For kids who go to private daycare centers, they will get additional subsidies.

The new program is estimated to benefit 22,370 kids and aims to relieve parents' financial burden, and thus help boost the nation's declining birth rate.

But for parents whose kids go to private daycare services, the subsidy of NT$17,000 each semester is not much.

Therefore, many people hope the government to set up more public daycare centers.

When asked whether the subsidy for private daycare service next year will remain the same at NT$12,000 as now or follow the example set by Ministry of Education, the city's education bureau says it will make proper adjustment depending on the situation in the coming year.