Japan

10 bil. yen for science education / Govt plans to raise subsidies for primary, middle school materials

Daily Yomiuri (January 8, 2013)

Japan’s education ministry, prompted by Democratic Party of Japan proposals, has increased subsidies for the purpose of providing more funds for science education in primary and middle schools. The plan is to fund teaching science as well as provide the supplies and books to conduct experiments inside more classrooms. Based on recent IEA (International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement) global surveys, when middle school students are asked what kind of jobs they wished to pursue, 20% of middle school students responded “want to find jobs utilizing scientific knowledge,” which is significantly lower than the international average of 56%.