Record numbers avoiding school

A record 138,696 elementary and junior high school students were absent from school for at least 30 days without good reason during the school year that ended in March, according to the results of an education ministry survey released Friday.

The figure, up roughly 4,400 from the previous year, shows a 10-fold increase from fiscal 1990, ministry officials said. Some experts believe the actual number of absentee students is much higher because the survey does not count those children who go to school but spend time in the infirmary rather that attending classes.

Officials from the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry called the latest results alarming and said the ministry would set up a panel of experts in September to look into the issue. The proposed panel will also review government policies to see whether they are effective in countering the trend.

As about 90 percent of the absentee students are believed to be spending their time at home, the ministry is also going to boost assistance to households, such as the provision of counselors and home tutors, and also improve community networks to help truants and their families.

"While we are aiming to have school counselors at all junior high schools by 2005, it seems it will become necessary to ensure that there is closer communication between these counselors and homeroom teachers," ministry official Haruki Ozaki said.

According to the survey, roughly 26,500 elementary school children, up 0.5 percent, and about 112,200 junior high school students, up 4 percent, stayed away from school for at least 30 days during the year for reasons that were not related to their health or the financial circumstances of their families.

At public schools, 36.2 percent of all such children said that problems at school prompted them to stay away from classes, and 19.1 percent said the direct cause lay with their families.

Of the elementary school students, 19.7 percent cited school, while 28.9 percent blamed family for their absence.

Meanwhile, 40.2 percent of junior high students said the problem was at school.

While policymakers voiced concern over the growing number of absentee children, some observers said these children should not be forced to go to school and that the ministry should not try to implement policies just for the sake of reducing the figures.