Dec 16 (Japan Times) - The education ministry plans to include ¥1.52 trillion in its budget for fiscal 2019 to cover personnel costs for teachers at public elementary and junior high schools, it has been learned.
The sum for fiscal 2019, which starts next April, is down ¥2.7 billion from the previous year, reflecting a fall in the number of schoolchildren and a decline in salary costs due to an increasing number of younger teachers.
In an effort to promote work-style reform for teachers, the ministry aims to secure sufficient instructors for English classes at elementary schools. English is expected to become an official subject for fifth- and sixth-graders under a new curriculum to be adopted from fiscal 2020.
As part of the reforms, the ministry will spend ¥13.5 billion to hire more outside staff at schools. It will also boost the number of instructors supporting club activities by 4,500 to 9,000 and that of staff members helping teachers to prepare classes by 600 to 3,600.
