Feb 23 (Japan Times) - The education ministry is stepping up the establishment of online learning environments for public elementary and junior high schools as the coronavirus pandemic continues.
A Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology project to provide a tablet computer to each student was completed within the 2020 school year, which ended in March 2021, three years ahead of schedule, enabling schools to adopt staggered attendance and online classes if a COVID-19 state of emergency or similar restrictions are introduced.
In April 2020, schools were asked by the ministry to create online education environments. With COVID-19 infections spreading rapidly across Japan in the summer of the following year, a succession of local governments began in earnest efforts to comply with the ministry’s request at schools under their management.
The Kumamoto Municipal Government conducted online classes for elementary and junior high school students, combined with physical attendance at school on days specified for each grade, for about 10 days.
In Gifu Prefecture, second-semester classes for high school students were held online for a certain period, while in Neyagawa, Osaka Prefecture, remote classes began after the end of summer vacation.
Online classes have revealed technological difficulties that need to be resolved to smooth the way for full-scale use of information and communication technology in school education.
Schools reported problems such as children being unable to gain access during periods of network congestion and struggling to hear or see teachers clearly.
In response, the ministry set aside about Y8.4 billion in its supplementary budget for fiscal 2021, approved by parliament in December last year, to provide computers, cameras, microphones, large displays, mobile routers and other devices for use by teachers. ...continue reading
