INCA Education around the world
Japan : Organisation/control of education system
2.1.1 Control
2.1.2 Funding
2.1.3 Private sector education
This information is intended to provide the background context of structure and control, within which the curriculum and assessment frameworks are implemented.
2.1 Organisation and control of system/structure
The Fundamental Law of Education (1947)1 is the basic educational law which sets out the aims and principles of education in Japan, and from which other laws and regulations are derived. It was revised for the first time in 2006.103 The School Education Law2 deals with the organisation and management of the school system and the Social Education Law regulates the activities of social education. These three statutes are among the most important which directly affect education in Japan.32
2.1.1 Control
The Prime Minister, designated by the popularly elected National Diet appoints the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) ('Monbu-kagaku-sho') who, in turn, appoints the personnel of MEXT, and the educational and cultural agencies under the jurisdiction of the Ministry, subject to the applicable public service laws and regulations.47 Until January 2001, MEXT was known as Monbusho (the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture).
The Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology is also advised on matters such as the curriculum, the standard number of school hours to be spent on each subject at each Year level until the end of compulsory schooling, the school meals service, the educational programme for the 21st century etc. by the National Council on Educational Reform (NCER).47
Administration of education is shared between national and local government at prefectural and municipal levels. MEXT's tasks are to integrate the administrative services at the national level, to promote education at all levels and to manage some national educational institutions. The Ministry advises and supervises local authorities and reserves the right to require regular reports, to conduct enquiries and, where necessary, to insist on changes.27
The national Government, prefectures and municipalities all have roles to play in the [hierarchical] administration of the education system and policy making is on a consensus basis.20 National, prefectural and municipal educational agencies are independent of each other.32
National (Ministry) responsibilities
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) formulates national education policy, drawing on the advice of various standing advisory committees. Within MEXT, there are parliamentary and permanent Vice-Ministers, and various councils and internal subdivisions all of which are responsible to the Minister. These subdivisions have links with prefectural boards of education, through supervisors and subject specialists who keep them informed, offer advice and undertake supervisory duties. In addition, supervisors organise conferences and workshops attended by teachers and prefectural supervisors and are responsible for the publication of guides, manuals and handbooks for teachers. 27
Within MEXT, there is also a Minister's Secretariat and seven bureaux, each responsible for defined aspects of education:
- The Higher Education Bureau.
- The Elementary and Secondary Education Bureau, responsible for a wide range of activities, including financial and local affairs, kindergarten, elementary schools, lower, upper secondary, vocational and special education, and for textbooks.
- The Science and Technology Policy Bureau.
- The Sports and Youth Bureau.
- The Lifelong Learning Policy Bureau.
- The Research Promotion Bureau.
- The Research and Development Bureau.30,27
In addition, there is a Director General for International Affairs.
MEXT administers Japan's public schools; establishes national educational standards;4 sets salary scales for teaching staff (although it is the responsibility of the local boards to pay them43); establishes supervisory services; gives advice to local boards of education; and makes grants in aid and passes these on to prefectural and municipal boards of education.27 Responsibility for school budgets, educational programmes, school appointments and the supervision of schools however, lies in the hands of the local boards of education, appointed by the head (usually the mayor) of the local governing authority, not by elected officials.4
In detail, MEXT:39
- administers a number of national establishments including universities, museums, youth centres and research institutes;
- provides guidance, advice and financial assistance to the boards of education in each of the 47 prefectural and 3.400+ municipal (local) education authorities, who are responsible for all levels of education in their own areas;29
- gives guidance, advice and assistance to local boards of education;
- requires reports on the educational activities of the local boards of education;
- makes enquiries and gives notice to local boards of education concerning necessary improvements or corrections (as appropriate);
- approves the establishment of local public and private higher education institutions and offers them administrative guidance and advice;
- performs direct services in the fields of social education and international exchange;
- gives assistance and advice to private bodies who conduct activities in these fields;
- supervises and assists the activities of many quasi-governmental organisations relating to education, e.g. the Japan Scholarship Foundation, the Japan Private School Promotion Foundation, the National Stadium and School Health Centre of Japan, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, the Private School Personnel Mutual Aid Association, the National Education Centre, the University of the Air Foundation, the Japan Arts Council etc.32
In addition to its responsibility for formulating and enacting national policy, MEXT is also in charge of:
- prescribing curricula, standards and requirements;
- approving textbooks;
- providing guidance and financial assistance to prefectures and municipalities.20
In June 2007, the National Diet approved a Bill which will also allow MEXT to intervene in cases where local boards of education (see below) are not meeting students' rights to receive education.95 Bills were also passed relating to renewal of teaching licences and the teaching of national history. Further information is available in section 1.2.1.
Local government responsibilities
Prefectures
There are 47 prefectures in Japan. The prefectures and municipalities hold some of their responsibilities under the national constitution and so are not subordinate agencies of the national Government in these respects. However, MEXT does exercise control over many educational matters through Courses of Study, which define the number of days and hours of instructional activity, the subject areas to be taught, and the sequencing of instructional topics; and through its authorisation of textbooks. One of the main objectives behind these powers and those of local government is to ensure uniform standards of provision throughout Japan.20
Prefectures, which are the upper tier of local government, exercise their educational responsibilities through a board of education, appointed by the Governor. The prefectural boards of education consist of five or six members each. These members are appointed by the governor (of the prefecture), with the consent of the prefectural assembly. They hold office for four years. The prefectural superintendent of education is appointed by the board. Previously, the approval of the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology for this appointment was also required; this is no longer the case.32 The main responsibilities of (prefectural) boards of education are:
- operating schools established by the prefecture, mainly post-compulsory senior high schools;
- licensing teachers and making appointments to elementary schools and secondary schools;
- providing advice and financial assistance to municipalities.20
Municipalities
Municipalities, the lower tier of local government (there are just over 3,400 in Japan), have educational responsibilities which are again exercised through boards of education, appointed by the mayor, and which include:
- operating elementary schools and junior high schools (that is, compulsory schools);
- adopting textbooks from the MEXT-approved list;
- making recommendations to prefectural boards on the appointment and dismissal of teachers.20
The municipal boards of education in cities, towns and villages consist of three or five members. These are appointed by the mayor of the municipality (city, town or village), with the consent of the municipal assembly and they hold office for four years. The superintendent of a municipal board of education is appointed from among the members of the board, with the approval of the prefectural board of education.20
Out of the five (or three) members of prefectural or municipal boards of education, no more than two, in the case of five members, or one, in the case of three, are allowed to belong to the same political party.20
There are three types of school administration - national, (local) public (prefectural or municipal), and private. Most technical colleges or colleges of technology and some junior colleges are national (that is, they are directly supervised and maintained by MEXT). Public institutions account for the vast majority of elementary schools and junior high schools, as well as of special education institutions. They also constitute a majority of senior high schools and a considerable number of kindergartens. Private institutions account for more than half of universities, junior colleges, special training schools and miscellaneous schools; the vast majority of kindergartens and a good number of senior high schools.18
Inspection/supervision
There is no national centralised system of school inspection in Japan. However, municipal and prefectural board of education supervisors do visit schools to monitor teaching and the curriculum, in particular. Indeed, supervisors have an important role in providing external guidance, advice and assistance on school management issues, teaching and curriculum organisation. The frequency of supervisor visits depends on local board of education policy. Supervisors are professional educational staff who usually have rich teaching experience in schools. Many supervisors are teachers seconded to the board of education for a specific period. 81
School principals
The school adviser system was introduced in April 2000. This aims to provide a mechanism for a school principal to take account of the opinions of parents and local residents in his or her school management. 81
Responsibility for pre-school education
Legislation defines yochien (pre-school kindergartens for children aged 3-6 years) as educational institutions and formally places them under the control of MEXT. It further defines hoikuen (nurseries catering for children from 6 months to 6 years old) as welfare facilities and places these under the control of the Ministry of Health and Welfare (Koseisho).57
2.1.2 Funding
General
Annually, approximately five per cent of Japanese national income is invested in formal education by the public authorities. Some four per cent of this goes to primary and secondary education.48
For the fiscal year 1995, the, then, Monbusho general account budget (spent on various government services for the improvement and promotion of education, culture and sports, including the payment of salaries for teachers and other employees in public educational institutions, the construction of educational buildings, financial assistance to private educational institutions and financial aid to students) accounted for 7.9 per cent of the total budget of the Government.39
The responsibility for financial support of public education is shared by the national, prefectural and municipal governments. Each level of government provides for its own educational activities with funds derived from its own taxes and other income. In addition to general non-specific grants to local authorities, the national Government also grants specific subsidies for education, including half the amount of the salaries of compulsory school teachers.29
Pre-school funding
Yochien (kindergartens catering for students aged 3-6, which come under the auspices of MEXT) whether public or private, receive national aid for building and for purchasing equipment, along with a modest yearly subsidy per student. The remaining costs are usually met by parents, who are charged a flat-rate tuition fee. There is some limited tuition aid available for parents on limited incomes. Public and private hoikuen, on the other hand (nurseries catering for children aged 6 months to 6 years, and which are the responsibility of the Ministry of Health and Welfare (Koseisho)), receive large reimbursements per student from the Koseisho. As a result, approximately 80 per cent of hoikuen costs are covered by (central) state funds, 10 per cent by local funds, and 10 per cent by tuition payments.57
Funding of compulsory phase schools
Public institutions account for the vast majority of elementary schools and (compulsory lower secondary) junior high schools as well as of special education institutions. Some senior high schools (providing post-compulsory upper secondary education) and a number of kindergartens and nurseries are also public, but many are private.18
It is a basic legal principle that educational expenditure for compulsory education (elementary schools and junior high schools) should be provided by national government and local public bodies and that such education should be provided free to students. However, parents make a financial contribution during the course of their children's attendance at public schools.32 This contribution is taken directly from the nominated parent's salary each month.43
Senior high school funding
Until April 2010, instruction was free in public elementary schools and junior high schools, but tuition fees were charged to students in national and local public senior high schools in accordance with regulations.
However, with the election of the Democractic Party of Japan, the new Japanese Government passed legislation to abolish tuition fees for public high schools in March 2010. Funding also increased for students from low-income families. Schools now receive High School Enrollment Support Funds on behalf of students and apply it to tuition. If tuition is higher than the funds, the student (or guardian) must bear the difference in cost. Other educational expenses such as registration fees, textbooks and school trips are not covered. The 'Act on Free Tuition at Public High Schools and High School Enrollment Support Form' aims to creat greater equality in upper secondary education.111
Prior to this, tuition fees in national schools were uniform throughout the country, but those charged in prefectural and municipal public schools were determined by the local authorities and were not uniform.32 Fees in public senior high schools were, however, considerably lower than those charged in private senior high schools.44
In public sector senior high school education, a student's family would contribute around £1,000 per annum to the cost of his/her education. About half of this sum would be spent on books, stationery, materials and extracurricular activities and the other half would be generally spent on tuition fees, excursions and incidental fees. For a private senior high school, the family contribution would often be over £2,000 per annum.21
Loans were available to students attending both private and public post-compulsory upper secondary schools. These tended to cover slightly more than the fees at public senior high schools, but rather less than the fees at private senior high schools. Loans could be obtained from a variety of sources including the Japan Scholarship Foundation, local authorities and local charitable foundations. The largest source of loans was the Japan Scholarship Foundation.44
2.1.3 Private sector education
General
Public institutions account for the vast majority of elementary schools and (compulsory lower secondary) junior high schools as well as of special education institutions. Some senior high schools (providing post-compulsory upper secondary education) and a number of kindergartens and nurseries are also public, but many are private.18
The substantial Japanese private sector receives considerable public subsidy. These subsidies are of two principal kinds. Capital grants are given for projects authorised by the Ministry of Education, for example new laboratory buildings for science, computers, audio-visual equipment etc. By far the largest item of state subsidy, however, is that provided for teachers' salaries. The Government pays approximately 50 per cent of the salary costs of private schools. These payments are conditional on the school meeting minimum standards in buildings and tuition, which are assessed by inspectors.44
Juku
There is considerable private provision in Japan and the perceived long-term benefits of entry into the private system create considerable competition for places, particularly at the secondary stage, and account for much of the extra tuition taken in juku ('crammers' 20or extra-curricular night classes) and yobiko (special schools for exam preparation).50 Juku themselves are privately-run institutions, competing to attract students. 46
Pre-compulsory
Many kindergartens and nurseries are private sector establishments32 which charge fees.44 In 1997, there were almost 14,690 kindergartens with an enrolment of around 1,800,000 3- to 5-year-olds. According to these 1997 figures, 58.2 per cent of kindergartens were privately-funded.34 Private kindergartens and nurseries do, however, receive some state funds (see 2.1.2).57
Compulsory
At compulsory education level, 99.3 per cent of all elementary schools and 94.1 per cent of all junior high schools are public-sector (national, prefectoral and municipal) schools.32 In the large cities, the proportion of children attending private schools is somewhat greater, while in the rural areas, where state schools enjoy a natural monopoly, they are attended by virtually all children.44
Post-compulsory
In 1997, 23.9 per cent of upper secondary schools were private,34 and tuition fees charged can vary greatly.32
Even in public sector senior high school education, a student's family contributes almost £1,000 per annum to the cost of his/her education. (About half of this sum is spent on books, stationery, materials and extracurricular activities and the other half is generally spent on tuition fees, excursions and incidental fees.) For a private senior high school, the family contribution is often over £2,000 per annum.21
Loans are available to students attending both private and public post-compulsory upper secondary schools and tend to cover slightly more than the fees at public senior high schools, but rather less than the fees at private senior high schools. Loans can be obtained from a variety of sources including the Japan Scholarship Foundation, local authorities and local charitable foundations. The largest source of loans is the Japan Scholarship Foundation.44
Private schools in Japan generally have the same curriculum as public schools, although private schools may include religious education in their curriculum; public schools may not.13
