Sapporo's Board of Education to Implement Health Management App in City Schools

SAPPORO, Jan 26 (News On Japan) - In response to the suicide of a first-year female student at a municipal junior high school in Sapporo three years ago in 2021, the city's Board of Education has decided to implement an app that conducts surveys on bullying and manages the physical and mental health of all students attending municipal elementary and junior high schools.

According to the Sapporo City Board of Education and others, the deceased student had repeatedly reported being a victim of bullying in handwritten school surveys. However, her teachers failed to share the results and no organized response was taken.

An investigative committee pointed out that the school's handling of the situation was inappropriate. As a result, the city's Board of Education has decided to introduce an app to conduct surveys on bullying and to manage students' health on a regular basis.

The app is intended to be used on tablet devices distributed to all students in municipal elementary and junior high schools, and will regularly inquire about the presence of bullying and issues they are struggling with, as well as conduct health observations. It aims to share information not only with homeroom teachers but also with principals and vice-principals, and to monitor response measures.

The city of Sapporo plans to submit a new fiscal year budget proposal that includes the necessary expenses to the city council session in February.

by Brian Dentry

Source: NHK

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