August 20, 2016
Temporary teachers from across the country held a meeting in Mie’s Yokkaichi City from August 12 through 14. The meeting revealed that most contingent teachers are suffering from poor working conditions.
Each local government has its own system of employing temporary teachers and paying their wages. Some public schools do not reimburse commuting expenses.
A woman in Wakayama Prefecture has worked as a temporary teacher for 38 years. She is now teaching at five different schools, including an evening high school. One of the five schools has her select textbooks used in class and even draw up a syllabus.
Nevertheless, she has no desk because of her position. One day, a regular staff member told her to use a vacant desk. When she found one that no one used and began using it, a school official said to her, “That’s not your desk.”
Another non-regular teacher in Gunma Prefecture was told by the principal to rear silkworms at the school during the summer vacation. The principal forbade her to tell anyone that she is doing that without pay.
At another time, when she was putting up a notice in the school building, she fell down and sprained her ankle. She told the school authorities that she wanted to apply for recognition of the injury as a work-related accident, but officials rejected the request by saying, “Don’t exaggerate.”
Many participants in the meeting pointed out that without decent working conditions, it is impossible to provide a good education to children. They resolved to call on the central government to significantly increase the education budget to improve the working conditions of temporary staff.
Past related article:
> Increase in the number of regular teachers essential to guarantee children’s right to education: expert [July 21, 2016]
Each local government has its own system of employing temporary teachers and paying their wages. Some public schools do not reimburse commuting expenses.
A woman in Wakayama Prefecture has worked as a temporary teacher for 38 years. She is now teaching at five different schools, including an evening high school. One of the five schools has her select textbooks used in class and even draw up a syllabus.
Nevertheless, she has no desk because of her position. One day, a regular staff member told her to use a vacant desk. When she found one that no one used and began using it, a school official said to her, “That’s not your desk.”
Another non-regular teacher in Gunma Prefecture was told by the principal to rear silkworms at the school during the summer vacation. The principal forbade her to tell anyone that she is doing that without pay.
At another time, when she was putting up a notice in the school building, she fell down and sprained her ankle. She told the school authorities that she wanted to apply for recognition of the injury as a work-related accident, but officials rejected the request by saying, “Don’t exaggerate.”
Many participants in the meeting pointed out that without decent working conditions, it is impossible to provide a good education to children. They resolved to call on the central government to significantly increase the education budget to improve the working conditions of temporary staff.
Past related article:
> Increase in the number of regular teachers essential to guarantee children’s right to education: expert [July 21, 2016]
