Free School Lunch Policy Prompts Questions Over Who Pays

TaiwanPlus News

Cities and counties around Taiwan are promoting a free school lunch program. But some cities including Tainan and New Taipei say they lack the budget and are asking for a universal policy funded by the central government.

Transcript

00:01What's for lunch?

00:02Many parents in Taiwan soon won't have to worry about that question anymore.

00:07Over a dozen cities and counties plan to provide free school lunches for public school students,

00:12hoping to take pressure off parents.

00:14The new program,

00:44is expected to benefit hundreds of thousands of young students,

00:47but some mayors worry that funding such programs

00:50will take a huge bite out of their overall education budgets.

00:53We will also be careful to check out our business situation.

00:58But the business level is very high,

01:01and the business level is very good.

01:05They really need to use this way.

01:09We've talked a lot of years.

01:13The new Taipei City accounts for over a sixth of elementary and junior high school students across the country.

01:31As the city struggles to find the funding to provide for all students,

01:34its mayor, Houyouyi, is calling on the central government to help make free lunches a universal policy.

01:40But the Cabinet says the central government doesn't have the funds.

01:45The Premier blames the opposition party-led legislature for changes to the fiscal allocation law,

01:54saying it's led to funding gaps between counties and cities,

01:58and siphoned money away from central government coffers.

02:01Still, policy opponents worry that funding universal school lunches will mean making cuts to other educational needs.

02:08With most of Taiwan's cities and counties jumping to get on board,

02:23the ones that haven't committed yet to free lunches feel left out.

02:26Whether or not it should be adopted nationwide

02:29will give these considering the policy some food for thought.

02:32Hank Shui and Tiffany Wong for Taiwan Plus.

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