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| English | 日本語 |
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| Key step toward equal education opportunity | 塾通いへの公費支援 |
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Asami, a third-year high school student, must have been deeply moved when she saw a text message from her father on her cellphone. The teenager later recalled her experience in a collection of poems called "Hyakunin isshu." "A mail from my father/ Says I shouldn't worry about my (college) entrance test fees/ I struggle not to cry."
She submitted this poem to "Contemporary Hyakunin Isshu by Students," a contest sponsored by Toyo University, and won a prize. I introduced her piece in this column back in January. The cost of education weighs heavily on households with shrinking budgets. There are kids like Asami fretting about their parents' finances, and parents like Asami's father lovingly reassuring them not to worry. But there must also be families forced to face the painful reality of having no money to spare for further education. This summer, the Tokyo metropolitan government will reportedly start offering interest-free loans to junior and senior high school students from low-income households to enable them to attend juku cram schools and prepare for entrance exams. The loan limit for third-year junior high school students is 150,000 yen, which is about 60 percent of the average juku school tuition per year. For students in the final year of high school, the limit is 200,000 yen. These students will also be able to borrow money to pay for their entrance exam fees. The Tokyo government is said to be considering exempting students who pass their entrance exams from repaying their loan for exam fees. This is the first student assistance program of its kind in the nation, and close to nearly 3,000 junior and senior high school teens are expected to apply. Some people may criticize the government for effectively allowing public schools to dump extra-curricular education on juku operators. I fully agree that raising the academic performance of students at public schools is the responsibility of the government. But it is also a fact that many schools and colleges test their applicants on more than just what they are supposed to have learned in the classroom. That is why 70 to 80 percent of junior high school students in Tokyo attend cram schools to improve their grades and hone their entrance exam "skills." Thus, youngsters from well-off families have an edge over their less advantaged peers in education and employment, while kids from poorer families are handicapped at the very start of their adulthood. This is a sobering reality. I would like to see how far Tokyo's new student assistance program will be able to level the playing field. According to the Japan Student Services Organization, the cost of living for an average university student was 720,000 yen in fiscal 2006. This was 210,000 yen less than in the peak year of fiscal 2000. I can visualize students scrimping on entertainment expenses and food bills because of reduced financial support from their parents. It costs money just to apply for a school or college, and then more money is needed to pay tuition. I wonder if Asami, who struggled not to cry, has found some part-time work by now. (April 18) |
携帯の画面を見て、高校３年の麻未さんは心で手を合わせたに違いない。〈受験費用心配しなくて良いからと父のメールに涙こらえる〉。１月の小欄でご紹介した現代学生百人一首（東洋大学主催）の入選作である。
縮む家計に、教育費はずっしり重い。台所を気遣う娘がいれば、余計なことは考えるなと励ます父がいる。事情が許さず、望まぬ選択を迫られる親子もあろう。 東京都が夏から、低所得世帯向けに、受験生の塾代を無利子で貸し出すそうだ。中学３年なら平均的な通塾費の６割にあたる年１５万円まで、高校３年の上限は２０万円で、受験料も貸す。合格したら返済の免除も考えるという。全国初の試みで、希望者は中高合わせて３千人弱とみる。 教室でやるべきことを外に放り出した、という批判はあろう。確かに、学力の底上げは公教育の仕事だが、入学試験の多くは基礎学力「プラスα」の部分で争われる。そこで負けまいと、東京の中学生は７〜８割が学習塾に通う。 だから、学校の勉強だけでは学力や受験技術に差がつく。家が富めるほど進学や就職に有利で、豊かでない家庭の子は人生の出発点でハンディを負う冷たい現実。公費による支援で、これをどこまで突き崩せるか注目したい。 日本学生支援機構によると、０６年度の大学生の生活費は年７２万円だった。ピークの００年度から２１万円の減だ。親の収入や仕送りが細り、娯楽や食費を切り詰める姿が浮かぶ。合格に金がかかり、入学でまた金が去る。涙をこらえた麻未さん、アルバイトを始めた頃だろうか。 (04月18日) |
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