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CHAPTER . AIMS AND CONTENTS OF EDUCATION AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Table 27. Composition of Elementary and Secondary School Teachers, by Qualification

The qualifications of teachers are classified as teachers and assistant teachers.

Prior to 1895, less than one-half of the teachers in elementary school had the qualification of regular teacher. The percentage of elementary school teachers who met the requirements increased gradually thereafter, reaching nearly 90 per cent in 1935. From then until 1950, the percentage dropped to 73 per cent in 1950 but increased subsequently to a total of 96per cent it 1960.

Data are not available on qualification of teachers in secondary schools prior to 1895. From that time, however, with varying fluctuations the percentage of qualified teachers in the old-system middle schools and girls' high schools and in the new-system upper secondary schools increased.

Improvement in the qualifications and ability of teachers contributes even more to the quality of education than does the provision of adequate physical facilities.

The achievement of efficiency in educational development depends upon the efforts expended to improve the training of teachers. The raising of teacher's qualifications is indispensable for higher efficiency in education, which, in turn, raises the efficiency of the educational investment. From that viewpoint, the efforts made in the development of teacher training since the Meiji Era are of great importance.

Thus, the plan for teacher training is an indispensable factor in the over-all educational planning. In the planning for the balancing of demand and supply of manpower necessary for economic development, careful study must be made of the demand and supply of teachers according to the different levels of education, and teacher training and placement should be given careful consideration.