(2)The Content and Characteristics of the 1879 Education Order

The 1879 Education Order consisting of only 47 articles was much more concise than the Education System Order.

Elementary schools, middle schools, universities, normal schools and specialized schools were identified as official school types, and various provisions spelled out the features of each type in some detail. However, the 1879 Education Order was especially precise in its discussion of the elementary school, and from this we can infer that the government was especially concerned with establishing a foundation for national education at elementary level.

Thus the 1879 Education Order was similar to the Education System Order in its high evaluation of the importance of universal elementary education. Its major departure was in the administrative structure it proposed for this purpose. For example in contrast with the Education System Order school districts were abolished, and no special provisions were made concerning the establishment of the Inspectors Office and the selection of school district supervisors. Rather the school affairs were left up to the discretion of town or village inhabitants through their elected educational committeemen (gakumuiin). These changes introduced by the 1879 Education Order allowed local governments to exercise greater discretion in developing their educational programs. Later, those critics, who felt Tanaka Fujimaro had paid too much attention to the decentralized American system thus allowing local governments excessive autonomy in the administration of elementary schools, referred to the 1879 Education Order as the "Liberal Education Order."

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