At the Cabinet's weekly meeting Thursday, Premier Cho Jung-tai received a Ministry of Education (MOE) briefing on version 2.0 of the national child care policy for ages zero to six. The premier said the government is working hard to build an affordable, high-quality and accessible child care system, and continues to expand both public and quasi-public services. Currently, the policy has already helped provide a total of 600,000 slots at care facilities for children ages zero to six.
Since January 2024, government subsidies for public and quasi-public care facilities for children below two years of age have increased to NT$7,000 (US$215) and NT$13,000 (US$399), respectively, the premier said. Between 2017 and 2024 the MOE also opened up a cumulative total of 1,078 preschool classes dedicated to facilitating the entry of two-year-olds into the education system, leading to a rise in the preschool enrollment rate of two-year-olds from around 15% to 53% since 2017.
In addition, starting from this year's winter vacation in January, the MOE is implementing extended care services for weekdays and extra care services for summer and winter vacations. Starting in August, public preschools will also begin offering drop-in care services on a trial basis.
Premier Cho pointed out that in order to establish a childrearing-friendly labor environment and allow more parents to balance work and family life, starting May this year the Ministry of Labor has begun trialing flexible parental leave without pay, allowing workers with child care needs to apply for parental leave on a single-day, five-day or seven-day basis.