More class hours is not the answer to educational problems
(From The Japan Times Sept. 8 issue)

小中学校の授業時間増

The Central Education Council, an advisory body to the education minister, has proposed increasing class hours by about 10 percent for key subjects like Japanese, math, science, social studies and gym at elementary and middle schools. As for electives and the so-called integrated-study classes — in which schools have leeway to decide what to teach — the council calls for fewer hours. The proposal represents a revision of the trend since 1977 of decreasing class hours.

The proposal comes as some people argue that the reduction of class hours under the "more relaxed" education policy has caused a decline in academic performance. But a correlation between class hours and academic performance has not been established. It is regrettable that the proposal has been made without a thorough assessment of the "more relaxed" education policy.

The council seems to think that increased class hours will automatically lead to improved academic performance. But various factors must be considered. One is how to motivate students. Others include teachers' instructional skills, the ratio of teachers to students and whether teachers can dedicate a proper amount of time to each student. The council is trying to improve academic performance without addressing these factors.

If the council is serious about nurturing students' ability to think and judge, it needs to address such issues as increasing the education budget to reduce class size and add more teachers, lightening individual burdens for teachers, improving their teaching skills and reforming entrance exams.

中央教育審議会はこのほど、小中学校の国語、数学、理科、社会、体育などの基礎教科について、授業時間を10 % 程度増やす方針を固めた。また、選択科目、総合的学習については、授業時間の削減を求めている。1977年以来行われてきた、ゆとり教育政策を大きく転換させることになる提言が、この政策の影響を十分に評価せずに行われたのは残念だ。

もしも中教審が、生徒の思考力、判断力を育てたいと考えるなら、学級あたりの児童数を削減し、増員により教員の負担を減らし、指導技術を向上させ、入学試験を改革するなどの措置を考えるべきだ。