 High tuition fees deprive young people of receiving higher education Japanese Communist Party Executive Committee Vice Chair Ishii Ikuko demanded that the government withdraw its plan to increase national universities' tuition fees at the House of Representatives Budget Committee meeting held on February 15. With the increase, the first year's payment that includes enrollment (282,000 yen) and tuition fees (535,800 yen) will be 817,800 yen or about 7,800 dollars. Ishii pointed out that the amount of money that parents pay in the first year of even some private universities is lower than that of the national universities. Citing that the average family income had decreased by 780,000 yen under the deflationary economy in the past eight years, Ishii stated, "Taking the present economic situation into account, the national universities' tuition should be reduced." Education Minister Nakayama Nariaki said, "I tried to not increase the tuition during budget negotiations but it resulted in an increase." He admitted, "It is certainly expensive." Concerning the increase in the tuition, the Japanese Association of National Universities and presidents of college across the nation are calling for a reconsideration or a freeze. (end) |