Japan Press Weekly

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2013 April 3 - 9 [EDUCATION]

No personal alarms provided North Korean students in Machida City

Tokyo’s Machida City has excluded North Korean school students from receiving the personal alarms it provided for children who entered local elementary schools in April.

The city’s Board of Education raises North Korea’s political situation as the reason for the exclusion. In protest against the decision, the only school in the city for students of North Korean descent says that it is totally unreasonable to connect the political situation with children’s safety.

The city gives personal alarms to all 6-year-old public elementary school students as well as private and North Korean school students if they wish. The total number of devices given to students this year was about 3,800.

According to the North Korean school, its students have received the security devices since FY 2004. It requested the education board in early March to send 45 personal alarms for its new students.

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Pushed by the school’s and residents’ criticism, the city board of education on April 8 retracted its earlier decision and sent 45 personal alarms to the North Korean school as it had requested.


Related past articles:
> Gov’t to exempt North Korean schools from tuition-free program (February 20, 2013)
> Kanagawa governor suspends subsidy for North Korean schools (February 15, 2013)
> Don’t exempt Korean schools from tuition-free program: students demand (February 8, 2013)