Cramming Schools and Regular Schools
Probably many Western people do not
understand what Japanese cramming schools are.
In particular, they are
remarkable in East Asian countries such as Korea, China and Taiwan.
Cramming
schools do not belong to an official educational system. They are open for
elementary and high school students during the evening after school. They
have two main
purposes: for entrance examinations and supplementary lessons.
In fact, many parents pay
much money for their children so that they can
overcome the hurdles of entrance examinations.
The
essence of cramming schools, after their explanation, can be stated here. In the
first
place, cramming schools are profitable facilities. (The following data
are quoted from the
Asahifs serialized columns, the title of which is
Kyoiku-Sangyo, gAn Educational Industry,h
appearing in it from September 28
to October 2, 2003.) According to the Ministry of Public
Management, Home
Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications, cramming schools are classified
as
Kojin-Kyoju-Sho (Private Teaching Places), and they are treated in the same way
as
Soroban-Juku (Schools for teaching the art of an abacus) and Shodo-Juku
(Schools for
practicing calligraphy). Cramming schools, however, have
recently increased and become
more large scale. The number of cramming
schools in Japan was 18,683 in 1981 but 51,120
in 2001. Besides, twenty-one
cramming schools have now become joint-stock companies.
That is why cramming
schools are aiming at looking after their own
interests.
Nevertheless, neither public schools nor
private schools seek profits. (It is natural that
public schools do not seek
profits because they are managed through taxes.) But the situation
of
private schools is different from public schools. In short, private schools are
an educational
system like an NPO (Non Profit Organization), because they
are legal entities that are
prohibited to seek profits. Hence private
schools are treated in a different way from private
enterprises (including
cramming schools) in the settlement of accounts. The accounts of schools
are
planned not to make profits in a tax system. The so-called Kifu-koi (a kind of
accounting
which regards profits as a donation), Kihon-kin-kumiire-kin
(which means that fixed expenses
are put in accounts beforehand), and
Genka-shokyaku-hi (a depreciation reserve) are some
typical devices of
special accounting systems of schools. Cramming schools do not have such
systems. So cramming schools and private schools (including public schools)
are extremely
different from each other, mainly in accounting. That is,
cramming schools, as private enterprises,
through an educational activity
pursue profits, but official schools do not aim at making profits.
This is
the most important point of view when we approach the problems of cramming
schools.
Cramming schools are different from
official schools in some other points. Public schools
cannot choose students
through entrance examinations. Although private schools can choose
students
by giving them entrance examinations, many of them have to accept various types
of
students considering the business end of schools. Besides, regular
schools have to teach students,
some of whom have low academic abilities, do
not have future aims, are reluctant to study and
not blessed with favorable
economic and domestic circumstances. The situations of cramming
schools are
different from those of regular schools. Many students who go to cramming
schools
are rich, eager to study and have at least one clear objective: to
enter a higher school in the
future. Therefore, teaching in cramming schools
is not as difficult as teaching in regular schools.
Simply speaking, it is
important to teach subjects in cramming schools, but it is important to
make
students study in regular schools. If teachers in cramming schools teach in
regular schools,
they will also have the same experience as teachers in
regular schools.
One proposal can be offered here.
That is, teachers in regular schools (both public schools
and private
schools) should teach in cramming schools for one year. On the other hand,
teachers
in cramming schools should teach in public schools or private
schools for one year. Through this
exchange teachersf system, teachers of
cramming schools and public schools will have an
understanding of each
other, and misunderstanding between them will be reduced. As a result,
cramming schools will not criticize regular schools, and regular schools
will learn effective skills
to teach students with a strong will to
study.
This type of proposal could apply to not only
the government officials of the Ministry of
Education, Culture, Sports,
Science and Technology but also to members of boards of education.
They
often complain about education without any knowledge of a school. Many of their
opinions
are sometimes unusual. For example, when selecting textbooks,
public schools adopt a textbook
that is ideologically prejudiced. The
problems of Hinomaru and Kimiyayo were the same, although
they were legally
regulated as the national flag and the national anthem. Once a music teacher who
refused to play Kimigayo in a graduation ceremony had been fired. Although
many people are
skeptical about the Hinomaru and Kimigayo law, it was
carried out in the Diet without enough
discussion. If officers of the said
ministry and the members of a school board have taught in schools
for one
year, such oppressive educational administration will not be carried out. If
such a policy is
practiced, problems of cramming schools will be solved.
Furthermore, if officials of education try
to be teachers in schools,
Japanese education will have a bright future.
Copyright (C) 2003 by Edmond N. Beard