Private kindergartens are very expensive. I’d like to send my daughter to a public kindergarten.
I know it’s very difficult to get in, but how difficult, and how do they choose?
Do they give priority to poorer families? What about single earner families?
What percent of applicants to public kindergartens are accepted?
Is it correct you can only apply for one public kindergarten?
Once you are accepted, are you accepted until elementary or do you need to apply each year?
Depends on how busy the area is. But I imagine it is easier since people have less kids lately.
In our area next year the public kindergarten will have two (2!) children attending including my son. So it will be more like a private nanny. And no, the government will not shut it down.
We do not need to apply each year. The cost is not much.
It used to be very difficult to get kids in. Teachers kids and aboriginal kids had priority along with families with three children. Also hukou.
I heard access is expanding so it may be changing rapidly however I still doubt they have enough places. All kindergarteners are getting subsidies now.
I don’t think hukou matters until elementary school.
But @Brianjones is right, teachers kids and aboriginal kids have priority.
For families with three kids, only the third kid has priority.
Once all the priority seats are taken, the remaining seats are put in a lottery with all the remaining applicants.
Edited to add: These are the rules we had followed with our kids, i.e., mixed Taiwanese-Foreigner kids, living in New Taipei City.
Depends where you live and your families nationality! In Taipei city foreign nationals are treated pretty much the same as locals in the lottery for places. In New Taipei City foreign nationals don’t get to take part in the lottery, they get to go on a waiting list and if there are any places left after every local who wanted one got one they are divided up. Other areas may have different rules.
I don’t know the rules changed according to the location.
What I mentioned are the rules we had followed with our kids, i.e., mixed Taiwanese-Foreigner kids, living in New Taipei City.
I know how it works for Taipei and New Taipei, no idea for other locations.
Taiwanese part should trump and they are considered (the same) as locals for the school lottery.
Only for locals, wholly foreign couples and their kids don’t receive the subsidy, at least not in New Taipei City.
Even private ones?
Presumably only the private ones as the public ones are basically “free”!
There are also non-profit ones.
There are subsidies for both.
I’m not familiar with those, are these private ones (as opposed to government run public) or a different category? Run by charities/religious organizations and charging minimal fees?
My daughter will be starting Kindergarten too later this year (She turns 4 in May) & I’m also planning to get her into a public one. My wife said it’s quite difficult to get in and there’s a lottery system so hope fully, I get lucky as private ones are really expensive. Just wondering when does the applications start and if accepted, when does the semester begin?
how much is kindy these days?
Private will cost 15 - 25k per month in New Taipei, more for a good one, more including all the other fees they throw on
The later.
They charge enough to cover expenses and if there’s any extra it gets reinvested into the school.
It’s cheaper than a private kinder but more expensive than a public one.
My daughter goes to a non-profit, and we pay about NTD 6,000/month. A nearby public one would cost about NTD4,000/month, I think.
For private kindergarten, you can pay as much as 5x ~ 6x more. but there are cheaper options too. It varies a lot.
They select by draw. But if your child is aboriginal ( aboriginal dad or mom ) they get on the list first.
I sent mine at 4 month old , i was scare as f, but how he developed is amazingly quick. Now his 1yr old
Also forgot to add, now days every city has their own wage of sponsor for new parents, beaode that sponsor, if your child enters to public kindergarten also they will make discount every year. I started paying 6000nt, now 4500nt
hi,
we are searching for a day care for our 1 year old in taipei.
where is yours located and how did you find it?
currently my wife looks into private daycares which are all about 20k, so not quite affordable 
thanks
Kindergarten for 1 year old? Is that more like daycare?
Anyway, whereabouts you live.
There’s a small kindergarten affiliated with 文大 in an alley near its branch campus building on the corner of Hoping E. Road and Jian-Guo South Road.
Hi, yes i meant daycare.
We live near beitou/tianmu, so this maybe also explains a little higher prices.
Public daycare at qiyan station is 11k/month and has a very long waiting list.