NEW TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Amid Taiwan's push to become a bilingual nation by 2030, parents are willing to pay expensive tuition to enroll their children in bilingual schools.
A New Taipei City bilingual school established in 2010 offers bilingual lessons in various subjects and claims students can reach the high-intermediate level in the General English Proficiency Test by sixth grade.
The school has a limited admission capacity, with only 50 preschool spots and over 1,000 applicants. However, once admitted, students are guaranteed to progress to 12th grade.
"There are limited elementary school spots available, but we accept students from outside to fill vacancies." Li Ching-tsung, the principal of Yuteh Private International School, said. "Approximately 500 people registered this year, with less than 100 expected to be admitted."
Most students come from the greater Taipei area, but some even commute from Taoyuan and Hsinchu.
The school in New Taipei City has experienced a significant increase in enrollment, growing from 53 students to over 2,000 in just a decade.
Even though the tuition for an international kindergarten is NT＄500,000 per year, higher than the annual salary of office workers, parents are still willing to send their kids there to cultivate competitiveness.
Despite a declining birth rate, the demand for bilingual education continues to grow in Taiwan, with more bilingual kindergartens and schools opening to meet the needs of parents who see English proficiency as a competitive advantage for their children's future.
