"Yuboh tonghap" — the merger of kindergartens and daycare centres — has been in the news for years, yet it is rarely clear what has finished and what has not. For a parent the practical question is simply whether the way you apply has changed. Here the settled and unsettled parts are separated.

1. Settled — a single ministry

Kindergartens sat under the Ministry of Education and daycare centres under the Ministry of Health and Welfare. A revision to the Government Organisation Act moved childcare to Education, and that transfer completed on 27 June 2024.

This is usually called "unification of the management system". It means the central ministry is now one. It does not mean the institutions themselves have merged — a distinction that causes a lot of confusion.

2. Not settled — the institutions themselves

Combining kindergartens and daycare centres into a single type of institution is still under way. The Ministry initially aimed to launch the merged institution in 2025; the schedule slipped, and 2026 is now the earliest realistic date.

Two questions remain open: how admission will work for the merged institution, and how teacher qualifications will be reconciled, since kindergarten teachers and childcare teachers train under different systems. Both are to be decided after public consultation, which means no concrete shape has been confirmed yet.

3. Operating hours are the part parents will feel

Alongside the merger the government plans to extend basic operating hours from the current 4–7 hours to 8 hours, and to add 4 hours of morning and evening care — giving up to 12 hours a day. A lower teacher-to-child ratio is mentioned in the same package.

These items require budget and staffing, so the date of announcement and the date of actual application can differ. Treat them as direction rather than as something already in force.

4. Applications still run on two tracks

Until the merged institution exists, the two systems stay separate:

• Kindergarten — you submit an application through the online admission system, within set recruitment periods.
• Daycare — you register on a waiting list through the pregnancy and childcare portal. It is a queue, not an application.

The two timetables are not aligned. Waiting for a kindergarten result can push your daycare queue position back. If you are considering both, register the daycare waiting list at the same time you submit the kindergarten application — being on a list carries no penalty.

5. What to re-check once the merger lands

• Whether the application channel becomes one.
• Whether existing institutions convert automatically or have to apply.
• How the cost structure is settled once hours are extended.

Until then, the more useful thing is to keep on top of what is already fixed — for example the infant health check-up schedule, which you cannot claim retrospectively if you miss the window.

Based on government announcements and provincial education office plans published as of August 2026. Admission rules and teacher qualifications for the merged institution are not yet confirmed; check the Ministry of Education and your local education office before applying.