Japan Press Weekly

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2011 March 9 - 15 [LABOR]

Number of non-regular public school teachers at record high

A number of non-regular teachers at public elementary and junior high schools in Japan hit a record-high of more than 100,000, accounting for 15.6% of all teachers, according to the Education Ministry.

As of May 1, 2010, 697,779 teachers work at public elementary and junior high schools. Among them, 588,794 have regular full-time positions.

Since FY2005, the number of teachers on regular status has been reduced by 8,000 while 24,680 were hired as non-regular teachers.

The rise in the number of teachers on non-regular contracts leads to a decline in public educational quality, said education critic Ogi Naoki. Most non-regular teachers are working without proper teacher training and are on one-year contracts. In order to make a living, they have to have one or two side jobs which makes it difficult for them to concentrate on teaching.

Ogi pointed out that the national government must act responsibly and drastically increase the number of regular teachers.

At a House of Representatives Education Committee meeting on March 9, Japanese Communist Party member Miyamoto Takeshi cited the example of a non-regular public school teacher working only six hours a week with an annual income of 550,000 yen. Miyamoto called on the government to examine non-regular teachers’ working conditions and take steps to improve them.