June 28, 2013
The sudden resignation of a public elementary school principal in Osaka City is arousing public anger. The principal, coming from a private company, applied for and took the post in April.
The city enacted an ordinance in July last year to appoint private citizens to be principals at municipal elementary and junior high schools under the sponsorship of Mayor Hashimoto Toru, who also heads the right-wing Japan Restoration Party. This is the first case of a resignation after a total of 11 people brought in from the private sector were employed as principals this past spring.
Chiba Takaki, a 38-year-old principal at an elementary school in Osaka’s Suminoe Ward, resigned on June 25. He said at a news conference on the same day that he wanted to focus on English language education taking advantage of his experience at a foreign-affiliated securities company, but it didn’t go well as he was assigned to a small-scale primary school that gave high priority to the improvement of pupils’ basic academic skills.
The following day, Hashimoto told reporters that he had already anticipated that resignations would occur, indicating his intention to maintain the open recruitment system.
Suemitsu Akihiro, an official of the Osaka Teachers and Staff Union, said, “It is utterly irresponsible for the principal to abandon his duty because he became dissatisfied with his job. Experienced teachers should be appointed to the position for the sake of children.”
The city enacted an ordinance in July last year to appoint private citizens to be principals at municipal elementary and junior high schools under the sponsorship of Mayor Hashimoto Toru, who also heads the right-wing Japan Restoration Party. This is the first case of a resignation after a total of 11 people brought in from the private sector were employed as principals this past spring.
Chiba Takaki, a 38-year-old principal at an elementary school in Osaka’s Suminoe Ward, resigned on June 25. He said at a news conference on the same day that he wanted to focus on English language education taking advantage of his experience at a foreign-affiliated securities company, but it didn’t go well as he was assigned to a small-scale primary school that gave high priority to the improvement of pupils’ basic academic skills.
The following day, Hashimoto told reporters that he had already anticipated that resignations would occur, indicating his intention to maintain the open recruitment system.
Suemitsu Akihiro, an official of the Osaka Teachers and Staff Union, said, “It is utterly irresponsible for the principal to abandon his duty because he became dissatisfied with his job. Experienced teachers should be appointed to the position for the sake of children.”
