7 The Promotion of Private Schools

The growth and development of private schools in the period since 1952 is unprecedented in the history of Japanese Education. The rapid expansion of upper secondary schools since 1963 and of universities and junior colleges since 1966 as the postwar baby boom moved through the school system elevated the private school system to a position of importance within the Japanese educational spectrum. However, just as in the case of the national universities, the rapid growth of the private school system has given rise to many problems. Of these, the most serious problem has been the lack of adequate financing. The national government has acted in three ways to alleviate this problem - loans, direct subsidies, and tax reductions or exemptions.

Governmental financing of private schools in the form of loans began in 1952 when the Private School Promotion Association was established as a channel through which the government invested money on behalf of private schools. Since that time, and particularly during the period of rapid expansion of the upper secondary schools and universities, the government has drawn up an annual plan to provide financial assistance via this channel. Moreover from 1963 increased loans were made available from the National Treasury's investment and loan fund for the purpose promoting science and engineering courses. Loans of this nature increased fivefold from 6.6 billion yen in1963 to 30.7 billion yen in 1969. Governmental direct subsidies to offset the expense of laboratory equipment have been available to private universities since 1953. Additional subsidies have been allocated for equipment related to the teaching of science and engineering courses since 1956, for equipment used in kindergarten teacher training programs since 1966 and for equipment related to education and study since 1968. Despite these increased allocations, the amount of the governmental aid compared to the actual expenses of the private institutions remains low. Revenue from student tuition has been inadequate to cover the balance, and in the face of rising personnel expenses on the one hand and limits on the amounts by which student fees can beraised on the other, the financial condition of private universities has deteriorated rapidly, especially since the late sixties. As a result a noticeable gap has emerged between the quality of education provided by private versus national universities. The government responded to this serious situation in 1970 by making available subsidies for ordinary operating expenses, including personnel expenditures. Furthermore, the Japan Private School Promotion Foundation Law was promulgated on May 18, 1970, and put in force on that day. Thus the Japan Private School Promotion Foundation was set up in July, 1970, to administer the expanded subsidy program and the Private School Promotion Association was dissolved.

In the area of taxes, among the activities of the school juristic persons establishing private schools only those activities which are intended to earn a profit are subject to taxation and the conditions for tax reductions or exemptions on contributions to private schools have been gradually improved.

A second problem that has troubled private schools has been how to assure for themselves an independent, yet public-minded character. Legally speaking, the authority of the government over the administration of private schools is greatly restricted and the question of proper management has been left to the discretion of the directors of the individual institutions. Instances have arisen, however, where serious difficulties with regard to both administrative and educational policy have occurred in private institutions. The case of Meijo University might be cited as an example. Between 1952 and 1962 serious and seemingly unsolvable problems plagued the school administration, yet from the legal standpoint outside adjudication was impossible. After a protracted ten-year crisis, provisional two-year legislation was required to deal with the situation.