The Taipei City Government has announced its plan to increase this semester's lunch fund, which is set to benefit more students overall. Those who are eligible will receive full subsidy from the government.

With next semester's proposal still pending, and with the elections coming around soon, many are questioning the real intention of this program.

Students from low-income families or whose family annual income is less than NT$300,000 are included in the subsidized lunch program.

Since the fall semester has just begun, the educational bureau of the Taipei City Government announced on Wednesday that it plans to extend the coverage to families with annual income below NT$600,000.

This could cost NT$260 million each semester and would benefit 50,000 students.

According to the city government, it will allocate half the budget along with Ministry of Education in order to make it happen.

But the funding sources for the next semester are still uncertain.This has drawn criticisms from observers.

Taipei Teachers' Association believes that the Ministry of Interior, Education city government and each school have subsidy programs and financial assistances for disadvantaged students. The government should integrate the available resources and make a long-term proposal, which could truly benefit kids in need.