New Taipei City Increases Teacher Guidance Fees by 1,500 NTD with Free School Lunch Policy

New Taipei City Mayor Hou Yu-ih announced that in conjunction with the free school lunch policy, the city will provide a monthly lunch guidance fee of 1,500 NTD to homeroom teachers and lunch coordinators, increase the staffing ratio for elementary school teachers to 1.75, and reduce the teaching load of homeroom teachers in elementary and junior high schools by one class. During the New Taipei City Council's general municipal inquiry, the KMT caucus questioned the free school lunch policy scheduled for implementation on August 31, raising concerns about strengthening food and agricultural education, ensuring procurement transparency, and maintaining quality. Mayor Hou stated that 21 meetings had been held regarding the policy, focusing on how to build supporting measures for free school lunches and how to ensure student life education is properly implemented without affecting school educational resources. Mayor Hou stated that in addition to relying on the city's own financial resources for lunch funding, approximately 400 million NTD will be allocated for three major supporting measures. First, a monthly lunch guidance fee of 1,500 NTD will be provided to homeroom teachers and lunch coordinators to support on-site meal care, dining safety, life education, and nutrition education. Second, the staffing ratio for elementary school teachers will be increased from the current 1.7 per class to 1.75. Finally, following the example of Taipei City, the teaching load for homeroom teachers in elementary and junior high schools will be reduced by one class. The Education Department stated that the free school lunch policy will provide a fixed subsidy of 75 NTD per meal to 323,000 public and private elementary and junior high school students in the city. By simultaneously launching supporting measures ranging from teacher support and personnel supplementation to teaching load reduction, the city aims to create a more secure and stable campus support system, allowing every child to eat with peace of mind, learn stably, and grow healthily.