New Proposal To Increase Foreign Students

[Mulboyne]

Asahi: Japan plan would raise foreign students to 300,000 by 2020
The government Tuesday issued an outline of ways to increase the number of foreign students in Japan to 300,000 by 2020, officials said. A five-point gist of the plan, which calls for increasing the number of overseas Japanese language study centers, easing visa requirements and creating job opportunities for foreign students here after graduation, was presented to a Cabinet meeting the same day. Under the proposal, about 30 universities would be designated as centers to promote further opening up of Japan's higher education system to foreign students. The gist was prepared by the education ministry and five other relevant ministries and agencies. It was created in line with a pledge by Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, included in a policy speech in January, to increase the number of foreign students in Japan.

See related FG thread: Japanese Higher Education "Facing Implosion"

[Mulboyne]

From the Asahi last week:

Time to revise criteria for language teachers

The Japan Foundation has devised a plan to more than double the number of its overseas Japanese language outposts to over 100. The plan comes under an initiative by Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda to raise the number of foreign students in Japan to 300,000. There are problems with this plan, from the viewpoint of instructors who are training native Japanese language teachers. The plan's criteria for hiring teachers is too strict and ignores reality. Demand for qualified Japanese-language teachers is expected to rise in the future. To meet this demand, authorities must lower the hurdles and hire graduates fresh from university.

Unlike the teachers' certificates that schoolteachers must obtain, there is no official licensing system for Japanese-language instructors. To be accepted, applicants must meet at least one of the following three requirements. They must have majored in Japanese-language education in college, finished 420 hours of Japanese-language teachers' training course and passed the Japanese-language teaching competency test. In many cases, applicants must also have "at least two years of actual teaching experience." A minimum of two years means at least 1,000 hours of teaching. Experience as teaching assistants or volunteers does not count. Since such conditions are virtually impossible for new graduates to meet, they cannot even apply for an initial screening. To clear this hurdle, many new graduates apply to become Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers under the Japan International Cooperation Agency, hoping to teach for two years and gain the required experience. But even when they do, once they return to Japan, there are few jobs.

About 30,000 teachers are employed at about 2,000 Japanese-language education facilities nationwide. Most are volunteers and part-timers. In fact, less than 20 percent ever attain the full-time, regular jobs as Japanese teachers they originally aspired to land. Outside Japan, more than 40,000 teachers are employed by the roughly 13,000 Japanese-language educational institutions abroad. Native Japanese speakers make up less than 30 percent of them. This is because first consideration goes to hiring local teachers who have majored in Japanese-language instruction. And it is also partly to do with the difficulty of obtaining visas and differences in educational systems. In Japan, language schools require teachers to have two years or more experience, as they are too busy to train new college graduates. They need experienced teachers who can be immediately useful.

On the other hand, regular schools do not demand that new hires have two years or more experience. Naturally, university students hoping to make a career as a language teacher feel this is unfair. The two-years' teaching experience requirement should be abolished. Instead, to help students acquire actual experience, schools should give them more chances to teach foreigners and thus gain teaching experience. In recent years, the nation has seen a larger number of children of foreign workers in Japan attending local schools. There is thus a growing need for Japanese-language education also in public elementary and junior high schools. In many cases, teachers of Japanese or English are expected to take on the task. But not just any native Japanese teacher can teach the language to non-Japanese. Properly speaking, professionally trained language teachers should take on the task. But few public schools have any on staff.

As Japan prepares for an influx of foreign workers, such as nurses and nursing care providers, the importance of Japanese-language education is rising. We must re-examine the job requirements and pay given to Japanese-language teachers to allow motivated young people to be hired as full-time staff teachers.

[bolt_krank]

I see it becoming a problem. The only reason Japan want more foreign students - is because the want the money. But they're not willing to sacrifice any in order to achieve it.

Sounds like a half-arsed policy that hasn't been thought out.

[Greji]

I see it becoming a problem. The only reason Japan want more foreign students - is because the want the money. But they're not willing to sacrifice any in order to achieve it.

Sounds like a half-arsed policy that hasn't been thought out.

You're probably right on target, but I don't think we should just shoot just at the J-education system by itself. There are numerous, numerous schools all over the world advertising in all developed countries for students. Foreign students mean big bucks. The schools in the UK and US made tons off J-students during the bubble and made no bones about their recruitment attempts at that time, all warm bodies accepted.

[bolt_krank]

You're probably right on target, but I don't think we should just shoot just at the J-education system by itself. There are numerous, numerous schools all over the world advertising in all developed countries for students. Foreign students mean big bucks. The schools in the UK and US made tons off J-students during the bubble and made no bones about their recruitment attempts at that time, all warm bodies accepted.

You're right - in Australia, education for foreign students is one of the biggest industries. On top of over-the-top school fees, economists calculate that foreign students bring about A$109 million a week into the country.

So I can see why Japan wants them.

[Mulboyne]

Yomiuri: Waseda eyes intl students

...Waseda University Vice President Katsuichi Uchida has a vision of what his institution will look like in five years: There will be students of various cultural backgrounds walking around its campus, with Japanese and foreign students chatting in English. As of May 1 last year, Waseda University, based in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, had 2,435 foreign students--the largest number at any institute of higher education in Japan. To mark the private university's 125th anniversary last October, it released "Waseda Next 125," an outline of its future strategies, especially for the next decade. The guidelines call for the university to increase to 8,000 the number of foreign students it accepts and the number of Japanese students it sends to overseas over the next five years...Consequently, Waseda has been putting more emphasis on its English education. The university's Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies, established in 1998, already allows its students to earn master's degrees by taking all-English courses only. Some of its undergraduate programs have also been making similar moves--the international liberal studies department has been offering all of its courses in English since its establishment in 2004, while the science and engineering department will introduce all-English courses next year. According to the Education, Science and Technology Ministry, 227 universities offered all-English courses during the 2006 academic year. But of the 227, very few allow students to earn bachelor's degrees by taking all courses only in English. In addition to Waseda, these schools include Akita International University in Akita, Sophia University in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, and Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University in Oita Prefecture. Meanwhile, 101 graduate schools at 57 institutions allowed students to earn master's degrees by taking courses entirely in English.

In addition to its emphasis on English education, Waseda offers intensive Japanese-language programs for foreign students. "Japanese, English and Chinese will be major languages in the business world for at least the next five decades when you work in Asia," Uchida said. "Therefore, I believe it's advantageous for us to let foreign students realize that if they study on our campus, they can learn Japanese as well as their majors." To promote the university overseas and recruit excellent international students, Waseda has set up offices in Bangkok; Portland, Ore.; Beijing; Singapore; Bonn and Paris. It opened one in Shanghai in June, with more planned for New York, Seoul and Taipei by the end of this year. Also, the institution has opened 13 dormitories for its foreign students, which can house a total of 546, while five others cater exclusively to exchange students, up to a total of 442. A new residence is currently under construction in Nakano, Tokyo, on the plot of land where the National Police Academy was located. The facility will be able to house up to 900 Japanese and foreign students, and will have "resident assistants" (RAs), who will help sort out any problems in the dormitory. The university already has a similar scheme at its Tanashi Student Dormitory in Nishi-Tokyo, Tokyo, which opened in April this year. Currently, 160 students are living in the five-story building, equipped with shared kitchens on every floor...more...