Undoing a recruitment knot

The Oita prefectural board of education, rocked by a corruption scandal centering on teacher recruitment, has decided to have 21 teachers quit "voluntarily" after their recruitment test scores were found to have been artificially boosted. While the decision appears to be a correct one, it leaves some important questions unsolved.

Acting on instructions from higher up, a former recruitment official for the board, who has been indicted on a bribery charge, is suspected of having inflated the scores of about 40 applicants in 2006 and 2007. People close to the applicants applied pressure on or made requests of education board officials and, in some cases, sent bribes.

A reform project team of the board analyzed data left in the recruitment official's personal computer and succeeded in finding out the original scores of applicants in 2007 and details of the score-tampering process. On the basis of these findings, the board decided to have 21 teachers quit "voluntarily." If they do not comply, they will be fired. But they will be allowed to continue to work as "temporary lecturers" if they wish so. As for the results of the 2006 recruitment test, the board decided to take no action on the grounds that definitive data are not available.

A strong possibility exists that many of the 21 teachers did not know that other people had applied pressure on, made requests of or even bribed education board officials on their behalf. In addition, the fact remains that some other applicants whose scores were high enough were unable to become teachers because of the scandal. Those who asked board of education officials for special treatment in recruitment should reflect on how their actions caused many people to suffer.

Another problem is that compared with the actions taken toward the 21 teachers, the actions the board of education took toward its officials seem lenient. Although several arrests were made, the heaviest disciplinary measure so far is suspension from work. It is imperative that all prefectural education boards nationwide take effective measures to make the recruitment process transparent.