Dec 17 (NHK) - An attempt to reform Japan's standardized university entrance exam system has hit another road block.
Education minister Koichi Hagiuda told reporters on Tuesday that his ministry decided to postpone the introduction of a written-answer portion into multiple-choice exams from January 2021.
Hagiuda said it would be difficult to quickly create a system that would allow applicants to sit for the tests free of worry.
He apologized for causing inconvenience to students, parents, teachers and everyone involved in the exams.
The ministry was planning to introduce portions that require written answers in Japanese and math starting from the standardized exams in January 2021.
The aim was to better grasp the examinees' abilities to logically think and express their thoughts.
But concerns had been raised over how the written answers of half a million test-takers could be checked properly in a short amount of time.
In addition, Hagiuda said the exam operator reported that the exam graders wouldn't be chosen until late next year, and that the risk of scoring errors remains.
But the education minister noted that written tests are important, and that individual universities should use them for non-standardized screening.
Hagiuda last month announced postponing the introduction of private-sector English tests as part of the standardized exams.
He explained that the planned system does not give all of the examinees a fair chance due to the cost of taking the tests and the limited venues.
The written-answer format and the private-sector English tests were supposed to serve as the twin pillars of reforms of the standardized admissions process.
Source: ANNnewsCH
