Home > Policy > White Paper, Notice, Announcement > White Paper > FY2003 White Paper on Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology >Part1 Chapter2 Section1.5

It is necessary for private schools, which occupy an important position in school education in Japan, to fulfill their responsibility to be accountable to society as highly public corporations and work to strengthen functions to carry out independent and autonomous management, in order to carry out more stable school management by accurately responding to the tough social and economic conditions surrounding corporation management in recent times, such as the declining birth rate, and to sufficient meet the demands of society as an important bearer of responsibility for public education. For this reason, the Subcommittee for Improvement Investigation of the School Corporation System, established under the auspices of the Subcommittee on School Corporation under the Council for the Establishment of Universities/School Corporations of MEXT, has carried out study of improvements to the school corporation system and in October 2003 completed its report, "Policies for Improvement of the School Corporation System." The main content of the report was as follows: 1) as a policy to improve the trustee/auditor/council system in order to strengthen the management functions of school corporations, give the board of trustees legal status and make registration of the chairman of the board of trustees possible to clarify who has authority and responsibility concerning the management of school corporations, and make it compulsory to draw up an auditors report, report it to the council and allow external people to read it in order to enhance the auditing functions; and 2) to secure transparency in corporation management and accountability to society, make the public disclosure of financial information compulsory. MEXT will take necessary measures, including system amendments, based on this report.

Changes in social and economic conditions are leading to an increasingly tough management environment for school corporations. It is necessary for school corporations to carry out their own management efforts based on the clear understanding that the population of 18-year-olds is in a long-term decline.

In order to support improvements to the management of school corporations, MEXT has set up the "School Corporation Management Guidance Office" within the Ministry, with the aim of improving the administrative structure, and has taken necessary measures such as guidance and advice concerning finance by school corporation management examiners, and preparation of a financial analysis/management diagnosis system provide by the Promotion and Mutual Aid Corporation for Private Schools of Japan. Furthermore, if the continued existence of a private school were endangered, a top priority issue would be to secure study opportunities for students currently enrolled at the school. Hence, support measures would be taken in cooperation with related institutions.