Osaka will reduce night high schools

The Osaka Prefectural Board of Education on November 25 decided to reduce the number of prefectural night high schools to 15 from the present 29 and industrial high schools to nine from 12 at present.

The decision immediately came under criticism as a method to force parents and students to pay the price for the prefecture's financial failure caused by wasteful, large-scale public works projects.

The Osaka Prefectural Teachers and Staffs Union and the Osaka Prefectural Senior High School Teaching Staff's Union published a statement on the same day, calling for the withdrawal of the plan to carry out cutbacks in education on the grounds of financial difficulty.

The Osaka Prefectural Senior High School Teaching Staff's Union pointed out that to halve the number of night high schools would force students to commute long distances and parents to pay more, including travel costs, and it would result in a worse educational environment that only discourages children from going on to high schools.

A teacher said, "Education should be provided to people who couldn't go to high school for some reason. Thanks to their learning experience at night schools, many students have found new paths. The board of education's decision abandons these students, denying the need for night schools."

The number of ordinary high schools has already been cut to 91 from 117 during the past four years, and about 7,000 junior high school students each year fail to advance to an ordinary high school. The night high schools take on these children. (end)