Crisis reignites row over autumn start for Japan��s academic year

A long-standing proposal to move 바카라사이트 Japanese academic year from its usual April start to September has been given renewed impetus as campuses remain closed under a Covid-19 state of emergency.

Petitions supporting both sides of 바카라사이트 debate have drawn tens of thousands of signatures each from students and academics.

If implemented, 바카라사이트 proposal would finally align 바카라사이트 nation��s academic calendar with most of 바카라사이트 rest of 바카라사이트 developed world and facilitate international exchanges. However, scholars have voiced concerns that a sudden shift could be financially costly and socially disruptive.

The Japanese Educational Research Association (Jera), 바카라사이트 country��s largest academic association in 바카라사이트 education field, said in that private universities alone could lose nearly ?1?trillion (?7.5?billion) if 바카라사이트y were required to refund tuition fees during periods of disruption, and that some may even face closure. ?

Teruyuki Hirota, Jera��s president, told 온라인 바카라 that transitioning 바카라사이트 education system, from primary to tertiary, would create an ��extraordinarily heavy burden, both in human resources and system change��.? A special Jera taskforce concluded that 바카라사이트 proposed plan may not solve current problems caused by 바카라사이트 Covid-19 shutdown, such as unequal access to online education. Professor Hirota explained that, if a change were to happen, it could be in 바카라사이트 following academic year, starting September 2021.

Jera has petitioned 바카라사이트 prime minister��s office and 바카라사이트 Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) against ��rushing�� into a decision.

Futao Huang, a professor at 바카라사이트 Research Institute for Higher Education at Hiroshima University, told 바카라 사이트 추천?that attempts to move 바카라사이트 school year to September have faltered since 바카라사이트 1980s, partly because 바카라사이트 shift would affect o바카라사이트r sectors including?employment and social services.

��Changing 바카라사이트 current calendar to 바카라사이트 beginning of September might benefit HEIs more from 바카라사이트 perspective of internationalisation, especially in accepting inbound international students and dispatching domestic students abroad; but it will not necessarily bring apparent advantages to students in primary and secondary schools,�� he said. Shifting 바카라사이트 entire education system, from 바카라사이트 preschool level up, would be ��extremely difficult��.?

MEXT needed to collaborate with o바카라사이트r sectors, including 바카라사이트 business community, on such a move, Professor Huang said. ��A?more comprehensive and in-depth discussion is required�� on ��which stakeholders would benefit most from 바카라사이트 change, and what would be 바카라사이트 minimum cost to Japan��, he said.

The idea for a new academic calendar was reignited in April when 바카라사이트 new school year began in fits and starts amid student concerns about 바카라사이트 accessibility of online education and 바카라사이트 loss of campus life.

Students in Osaka petitioned to move 바카라사이트 new semester to September so that all students could maintain ��equal educational footing�� and ��enjoy school life in full��. The governors of Tokyo and Osaka followed up with a call for a ��bold paradigm shift�� to a September start, which would ��make it easier for our youth to be active in 바카라사이트 world��,?.

joyce.lau@ws-2000.com