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The number of entrants (including fourth-year students in technical colleges) into universities, junior colleges, etc. (undergraduate courses of universities, regular courses of junior colleges, National Training Institutes for Nursing Teachers, National Training Institutes for Engineering Teachers, and technical colleges) reached 608,000 persons in 1975, three times the 205,000 of 1960. A particularly remarkable increase in the number of entrants into these schools was shown during the period 1965 through 1967. This was mainly because those born during the baby boom years of 1947-49 happened to be graduated from upper secondary schools during this period, resulting in the sharp increase in the number of upper secondary school graduates and the consequential phenomenal increase in the number of applicants to institutions of higher education.

Out of 599,000 entrants into unversities, junior colleges, etc. in 1975, 424,000 were admitted to universities (undergraduate courses) and 175,000 to junior colleges (regular courses). As compared with 1960, the number of entrants into universities was 2.6 times greater and for junior colleges, 4.1 times greater. That is, the growing rate of the number of entrants into junior colleges was greater than that for entrants into universities during the same period.

The percentage of students advancing to universities, junior colleges, etc. grew steadily from 10.3% in 1960 to 20.0% in 1964. It sank to 16.3% during 1965-66 due to the sharp increase of upper secondary school graduates, but then rose continuously to 38.4% in 1975 partly due to the decline of the population of the comparable age group. The percentage of students advancing to universities rose from 8.2% in 1960 to 26.7% in 1975.

Chart 1-20. Number of Entrants into Universities and Junior Colleges, and Rate of Student Advancement Thereto