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CHAPTER . MEASURES OF NATIONAL EFFORTAND DISTRIBUTION OF TIRE EDUCATIONALINVESTMENT

In the analysis of the educational investment in this country, the important role being played by private schools should not be underestimated.

Table 39 shows the percentage which private school expenditures were of the total of tax-supported and private schools in Japan. Table 40 presents comparable data on enrollments.

Table 39. Ratio of Private school Expenses to the Total Amount of the National, Local and Private School Expenses, 1905-1960

Table 40. Ratio of Number of Pupils in Private Schools to the Total Number of Pupils in National, Local and Private Schools, 1905-1960

In these tables, separate data are presented only for secondary and higher education, in view of the particular important role which have been played by private schools at these levels.

Since the establishment of a nation-wide system of public elementary schools, comparatively few private elementary schools have been maintained in Japan. However, the inadequacy of the national systems of secondary and higher education to meet the demands of the public has provided abroad field for the investment of private capital.

Throughout the period from 1905-1960, private secondary and higher educational institutions have consistently accounted for material percentages of the total support and the total enrollment in secondary and higher institutions. The percentages of the total enrollment attending the private schools have consistently exceeded the percentages of total cost bome by the private institutions, however. This is the result of lower costs per student in the private institutions.

Deviations from the general trends shown in Tables 39 and 40 occurred in 1920 and in the years after World War . These were caused by major expansions in the national system of secondary schools beginning in 1920;and by a lag in the financing of private school reconstruction costs following the war.

At the present, private school expenditures account for 15.5 per cent of the total expenditures for public and private schools at all levels, 17.5 per cent of the total expenditures for public and private secondary schools, and 42 per cent of the total expenditures for public and private higher educational institutions.

From the viewpoint of investment in education, it must be said private schools have been playing an important role in education in this country, particularly in secondary and higher education. This fact deserves special attention in the formulation of educational policies.