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Home > Policy > White Paper, Notice, Announcement > White Paper > JAPANESE GOVERNMENT POLICIES IN EDUCATION,SCIENCE AND CULTURE1991 > Part2 Chapter2 3 (2)

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PART 2 Recent Trends and Developments in Government Policies in Education, Science and Culture
Chapter 2. Promotion of Lifelong Learning
3 Lifelong Learning and Institutions of Formal Education
(2) New Types of Educational Institutions


In order to provide people with diverse Beaming opportunities, some new types of educational institutions, such as the University of the Air, "credit-system upper secondary schools" and special training schools, have been created.

The University of the Air aims at providing a great many people with opportunity for high quality learning, through the effective use of a variety of media. The University, which was founded in 1983, now enrolls approximately 35,000 students. Since April 1989, when it sent its first graduates into society. The University has produced 1,951 graduates.

In order to provide access to its educational programs for people living in areas which can not be reached by broadcasting, in 1990 the University set up video Beaming centers in each of four regions. These original four were Hokkaido, Hiroshima, Fukuoka and Okinawa. In 1991 the University added six regions; Miyagi, Ishikawa, Gifu, Osaka, Kagawa and Kumamoto, all of which are outside its broadcasting area. There is the expectation that the University will better help meet the needs of people for lifelong learning, by increasing its cooperation with other facilities for lifelong learning, as well as with other institutions of higher education.

"Credit-system upper secondary schools" are a new type of school introduced in1988. Their purpose is to make opportunities for upper secondary education available to anyone at anytime. In these schools students can learn different subjects and acquire credits in a more flexible time schedule. Unlike traditional upper secondary schools, these schools have no "fixed grade level system" under which students are expected to move up to a higher grade once every year. These schools are charged with meeting the diverse needs of lifelong learning programs. In 1991 there were 19 public "credit-system upper secondary schools" in 15 prefectures and four private ones in four prefectures.

Special training schools, which were created in 1976, have been growing both in the numbers of schools and students year by year, with 3,337 schools and about 830 thousand students as of May l, 1991. Special training schools and miscellaneous schools are characterized by their programs for practical vocational education and for specialized technical and technological education which correspond to diverse demands arising from various changes in society. It is hoped that these schools will continue to provide a variety of educational programs and continue to grow as facilities for lifelong learning benefiting a great many people.


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