Japan Press Weekly

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2017 August 2 - 8 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

Civil group urges Education Ministry to improve ‘grant-type’ scholarship program

A citizens’ group seeking an improvement of the “grant-type” scholarship program and realization of free education on August 3 pushed the Education Ministry to increase the educational budget to be incorporated into the nation’s next fiscal year budgets.

The civil group consisting of citizens, union activists, and postgraduate students demanded that the government provide tuition-free education at high schools for all children and increase the amount of grants and the number of students who are eligible for receiving the grant-type scholarship. Moreover, the group urged the government to secure the budget required to promote the gradual elimination of tuition for higher education which is called for in an article of the International Covenants on Human Rights.

Civil group head Miwa Sadanobu said, “The government should allocate the required budget in order to reduce the burden of educational expenses which include not only tuition fees but also entrance fees and the purchase of textbooks.”

The chair of the union of workers at the Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO), Fujii Kazuko, pointed out that the income requirement for certifying households that are eligible to receive grant-type scholarships is too strict. She also urged the ministry to immediately stop releasing data pointing to the number of recipients who fall behind on student loans for each university and college.

A representative of the council of graduate students representing all universities and colleges in Japan demanded a grant-type scholarship program also for postgraduate students from lower-income families.