Teachers' discussions focus on defense of Fundamental Law of Education -- National Meeting for Educational Study

The annual National Meeting for Educational Study was held by the All Japan Teachers and Staff's Union (Zenkyo) and seven other organizations from January 11 to 13 in Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture and in neighboring Gifu Prefecture.

In the plenary meeting held at the Nagoya Education Center on January 11, Zenkyo President Matsumura Tadaomi in his speech stressed that nonviolence and democracy are most important for children's education, and called on the participants to make the meeting a great success.

He also called for a thorough discussion in the meeting concerning the importance of improving education and schools based on the Fundamental Law of Education, having children's opinions reflected in school management, and what teachers should do in connection with these tasks.

On January 12 and 13, 29 group meetings were held at several places in the two prefectures, with teachers, parents, and students of elementary, junior, and senior high schools as well as universities taking part from throughout Japan.

About 300 people attended a symposium to discuss the five-day school week system which was introduced in April 2002. A mother of a high-school student complained about her child's life under the system as follows: Her child has seven periods of lessons every day (six periods at the most under the previous six-day school week system), comes home around 8:00 p.m. after taking part in an extra curriculum activity, does homework until 1:00 a.m., and goes to school at 7:30 a.m.

At the group meeting to discuss children's rights and school, elementary school children for the first time made a report about the children's council activity of collecting children's ideas and opinions about how they want to utilize unused space in the school building, proposing the ideas to teachers, and having them realized in renewal plans.

Since Zenkyo announced that Nagoya and Gifu would be the venue of this year's meeting , right wing groups have persistently and fiercely opposed the meeting and pressed the Nagoya City Government to cancel its permission to use its Education Center.

The meeting organizers have called on the public to defend freedom of speech and assembly, and consequently obtained the Nagoya District Court decision to allow them to use the city's Educational Center.

Around the center where the meeting was held, nearly 100 sound trucks of right-wing organizations showed up, shouting opposition to the meeting over loud speakers.

Right-wing groups' trucks were also running around in Gifu Prefecture, screaming opposition to the meeting over loud speakers. A citizen on the street complained, "Why are they so hysterically opposed to a meeting to discuss education?" (end)