Education minister asks education law to be reviewed

The Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology,
Toyama Atsuko on November 26 requested the Central Council for Education,
her advisory panel, to review the Fundamental Law on Education. The reason
she gave for such a review was that the task now is for education to develop
human resources in order to make Japan more "competitive."

The Fundamental Law on Education was enacted after WWII in order to
realize the ideals of the Constitution such as building a democratic and
cultural state and contributing to the world and the well being of humanity.

The purpose of education under the law is to develop the personality of
individuals fully, teach children to respect the human dignity of all people
who are the builders of a peaceful state and society, encourage them to seek
truth and love peace, and help them create culture full of originality.

Liberal Democratic Party governments have called for education to make
the people serve the interests of business circles, not the idea of the
Fundamental Law on Education.

The education minister's decision to review the law, the first since the
end of WWII, is part of the government plan to use education as a means of
training people to faithfully carry out the government policies and
programs.

Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi in a press
conference at the Diet building on the day said that the education minister
lacks clear judgment because she blames the Fundamental Law on Education for
causing disorder in education and schools.

He said that the current loss of order in schools is a consequence of too
much emphasis on preparation for entrance examinations for higher schools
and top-down control on teachers and children in school management.

He stressed that what is necessary now is to improve education based on
the law which calls for education aimed at the development of independent
thinkers. (end)