One in nine public schoolteachers is a temp

Japan Press Weekly

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

One in nine public schoolteachers is a temp

The number of full-time schoolteachers has been declining in contrast to a sharp increase in the number of temporary or non-regular teachers. As of 2009, one out of nine teachers in public elementary and junior high schools teaches part time.

A temporary teacher who has a 20-year career in the Tokyo metropolitan area said, "I can't take into account children's growth using a longer-term viewpoint because I basically changes school every year."

Non-regular teachers are normally in a vulnerable work position. The temporary teacher said, "I can't express any opinions regarding a principal's proposals even if I have questions."

A full-time teacher at a public school in Tokyo said, "A rise in temporary teachers makes it difficult for us to discuss with each other how to appropriately educate pupils based on their development."

The more part-time teachers a school hires, the heavier workloads full-time teachers must shoulder. "We are so busy. We have no time to listen to temps' questions or problems. We cannot take care of them at all," said the above-cited teacher.

In addition to the national requirement for the number of teachers at public school, the Saitama City government (Saitama Pref.) employs 159 support teachers on one-year contracts. They work only five hours a day.

A support teacher complained, "Within the five hour workday, I don't have time to meet a class teacher to discuss lesson content. If I want to give a good lesson, I have to work overtime without pay." This teacher works with an hourly wage of 1,210 yen and earns less than 800,000 yen a year, receiving public livelihood assistance.

In 2004, local governments were allowed to hire as many teachers as they want within the limits of the budget required by the national government for teachers' salaries. Many local governments, as a result, chose to increase the number of teaching staff by cutting each teacher's salary.

Enacted in 2006, a law to promote administrative reform allowed replacing one full-time teacher with two part-time teachers who work only four hours a day. The new law accelerated the trend to not employ regular teachers.

Miwa Sadanobu, professor emeritus of Chiba University, said, "The tendency to hire non-regular teachers shows that authorities are unwilling to use money for education. A low-cost education is not good for the children or the teachers."

The educational spending out of total expenditures of both the central and local governments accounts for 9.5 percent, remaining at an unusually low level from an international viewpoint. Miwa said, "The government must increase the education budget and promote the hiring of full-time teachers."

- Akahata, August 18, 2010