Hello, this is Shimoyama of IMS. With Golden Week approaching, I am sure that some of you are making travel plans. On the 25th of last month, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) released the results of a survey investigating the school enrollment status of foreign children in the fiscal year of 2021, with the survey having been held in May last year.
This survey is regularly conducted by MEXT with the intended respondents being boards of education in cities, wards, towns, and villages located throughout Japan in order to grasp the rate of enrollment of foreign children throughout the country, and was first conducted in 2019. According to this survey, there are 133,310 foreign children of school age on the Basic Resident Register. Of these, the number of children who are considered to be out of school is approximately 10,046, a decrease of 9,425 from the previous survey, but still indicating that approximately 10,000 children are potentially not receiving an appropriate education.
MEXT Survey Results
A breakdown of the approximately 10,000 children is as follows.
■Number of children confirmed to be not enrolled in school: 649
■Number of children whose enrollment status cannot be confirmed due to inability to make contact: 8,597
■Number of children whose enrollment status is unknown because the Board of Education has not attempted to confirm their enrollment status: 800
Foreign children are not obliged to attend compulsory education in Japan, but if they wish to attend public compulsory education schools, MEXT will provide them with a school to enroll in free of charge in accordance with International Covenants on Human Rights and other agreements.
MEXT is making various efforts calling for boards of education throughout Japan to ensure that foreign children do not miss out on schooling opportunities. Specifically, (1) publicize and explain about school enrollment options for foreign children (oral explanations, distribution of multilingual school enrollment guidebooks, etc.), and (2) make efforts to properly manage information on school enrollment by preparing a school age register similar to the Basic Resident Registrar, etc. However, the results of this survey show that the ideal situation of "providing all foreign children with an education equal to that of Japanese" has not yet been reached.
Efforts to Expand Assistance
A while ago, it was reported that an elementary school in Osaka, prepared handouts distributed by the school in "easy Japanese". Certainly, there are families where foreign parents do not understand Japanese well, and I think this is a wonderful approach that is friendly to foreigners.
According to the former principal who made this proposal, this initiative has reduced miscommunication, and has reduced the number of missed Saturday classes and forgotten items, because parents are able to read the printouts and children are able to understand what is written on them.
(In addition, the concise expression used in these handouts was appreciated by busy Japanese parents as well.)
Some schools are tackling issues surrounding foreign children on their own in this way, and I believe that if schools such as these increase in number, the educational environment will become more accommodating and comfortable for both foreign parents and their children.
Education is an important part of a child's future, and the right to education must be protected by society. This is true for both Japanese and foreigners.
Whenever I visit the Immigration Services Agency, I see many small children. I sincerely hope that the MEXT and local governments will continue to seriously address this issue so that they do not deprive these children of educational opportunities.
For more information, please contact us below ↓
https://imsvisa.support/en/contact/
