PART Recent Trends and Developments in Government Policies in Education, Science and Culture
Chapter 4 Improvement and Enrichment of Higher Education
2 Promotion of the Reform of Higher Education
(3) Coping With a Lifelong Learning Society
The demands for lifelong learning from the entire society have
greatly increased. These include both the demands for continued professional
knowledge and skills to keep up with the high pace of the technological revolution
as well as growing intellectual demands from the public. To appropriately deal
with these demands, the Ministry is making efforts to introduce a system of coursework
and other measures which will accommodate working adult students. This includes
more flexible course offerings and adoption of measures for evaluating a diverse
range of educational achievements such as establishing new degree granting systems.
The Ministry is also promoting "refresh education" at graduate schools and other
higher education institutions as a means to update the knowledge and technical
skills of working professionals.