There are about 18,000 cram schools in Taiwan, and they have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, teachers at these schools are demanding their inclusion in the government's stimulus voucher program.
People can't wait for the second round of stimulus vouchers. Taiwanese citizens will be able to exchange NT$1,000 for NT$5,000 worth of vouchers. That’s up from the NT$3,000 in vouchers the government gave citizens last year.
Some people don’t understand why the government won’t just give them cash. But cash can be stashed away in savings accounts: using vouchers ensures that consumers spend, stimulate the economy, and thereby help businesses hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Well…most businesses hit by the pandemic anyway. Kindergartens and cram schools aren’t included in the program, even though they have had to suspend in-person classes since May.
The director of Taipei’s Education Association, Chang Hao-zan says that about 60% of cram school students could not attend online classes during this time. Once the schools closed, parents immediately came for a tuition refund.
Chang says he’s worried that many cram schools will go bankrupt. He says that this collapse probably won’t happen immediately, but after the schools reopen and find they don’t have enough students to stay afloat.
A mass closure of cram schools would affect thousands of jobs. A director for Taipei’s cram schools, Li Chun-hsiung, says 70,000-80,000 teachers have left unemployed as it is since the schools stopped in person classes. Let’s hope the schools are all back in business when the new semester starts.