Initiatives aimed at School Facilities Appropriate for a New Era

 School facilities are one of the basic educational requirements, and it is necessary to maintain safe and high-quality school facilities from the perspective of maintaining and improving educational levels in line with the developmental stage.

 For this reason, MEXT produces guidelines and compiles examples to help in the maintenance of school facilities and disseminates these materials to school officials. Government subsidies are also provided for buildings that have become dangerous due to lack earthquake resistance or aging. MEXT additionally promotes the improvement of school facilities with minimal environmental load as a measure to combat the universal challenge of global warming.

 Also, as well as providing support for the prioritized and systematic improvement of facilities at national universities, etc., MEXT also drives the maintenance and improvement of the campus environment that supports education and research activities at universities and other institutions through the promotion of facility management*1 and other efforts.

Positioning of School Facility Maintenance in the Basic Plan for the Promotion of Education

＜Basic Direction 3: Development of human resources with a wide range of essential knowledge, expertise and intelligence to support social development＞

Maintenance and upgrading of education and research facilities and installations such as universities

 To promote the development of outstanding human resources and creative and cutting-edge R&D, support is provided for the prioritized and systematic improvement of facilities and equipment at universities, etc. not only to ensure safety, but also to equip them with functions that fulfill present-day education and research needs. To this end, the Second Five-Year Program for Emergency Renovation and Building of Facilities of National Universities  , etc. (Fiscal 2006 to 2010) will be steadily implemented.

＜Basic Direction 4: Materialization of safety and security for children and creation of an environment for high-quality education＞

Establishing safe and secure educational facilities by improving earthquake resistance, etc.

 In order to ensure the basic requirements for education throughout the country, the government assists in the improvement of school facilities. The government also assists in establishing safe and secure environments by improving the earthquake resistance of elementary and junior high school facilities, etc., which are not only places where children learn and do other activities with security but also serve as temporary evacuation centers in case of disasters. The government assists in improving earthquake resistance especially at elementary and junior high school facilities which would have a high risk of collapse in the event of a powerful earthquake. The national government asks local governments, etc. to improve the earthquake resistance of these facilities as soon as possible within the term of this plan. In conjunction with these efforts, the government also assists in making facilities barrier-free and anti-asbestos in addition to other improvements.

The Current State of School Facilities and the Issues and Challenges they Face

Schools that enable learning in a secure environment

Promoting the improvement of earthquake resistance

 It is crucial to ensure the safety of school facilities, which are not only places at which children spend the greater part of a day conducting activities, but also serve as temporary evacuation centers for local residents in the event of a disaster. Through the provision of government subsidies, etc., MEXT assists the efforts of local governments and actively works to drive improvements to earthquake-proofing.

Dealing with aging facilities

 With facilities constructed over 30 years ago currently making up about half of all public school facilities, the aging of facilities constructed during a period of rapidly increasing student intake is causing a serious situation. To ensure safety and security in the event of an earthquake and on a daily basis and to extend the life of facilities, it is necessary to promote the strategic renovation and improvement of aging school facilities.

Measures for indoor environments

 To ensure that students can experience school life in a healthy and comfortable manner, MEXT is promoting measures for the indoor environments of school facilities, including measures to combat indoor air pollution and anti-asbestos measures.

Accident and crime prevention measures

 MEXT promotes accident and crime prevention measures at schools to ensure that the facilities environment at schools offers reassurance through the equipping of safety measures including adequate disaster prevention and crime prevention functions.

Schools appropriate for a new era

Guidelines for Designing Educational Facilities

 MEXT has established the Guidelines for Designing Educational Facilities as a compilation of what to pay attention to in planning and designing facilities for each type of school. The guidelines are continuously reviewed to respond to changes to the content and methods of learning and social circumstances. MEXT also works to disseminate and raise awareness through exemplar models of school facilities and “Anthology of Ideas for Creating New School Facilities,” etc.

Schools that serve as hubs for the local community

Interaction and cooperation with the local community

 The government is working to enhance school facilities as hubs for a range of activities such as lifelong learning activities and exchanges with local residents such as the elderly.

Utilization of surplus classrooms

 In recent years a surplus of classrooms has emerged due to a decline in student numbers associated with the declining birthrate, and this has created a need to utilize these classrooms effectively. MEXT offers assistance to local governments for when they seek to effectively utilize surplus classrooms through the introduction of usage examples and by allowing flexibility in procedures for the disposal of property, etc.

Promotion of barrier-free educational facilities

 MEXT assists efforts on the part of those who establish and operate schools through the creation of exemplar models of school facilities, etc. so that irrespective of the presence or absence of people with disabilities, students can have their school lives without any problem, and so that schools can also serve as temporary evacuation centers, etc. for local residents in the event of a disaster.

Earth-friendly schools

Eco-schools

 MEXT promotes the establishment of environmentally friendly educational facilities (Eco-schools) to establish facilities that reduce environmental load and take into account coexistence with nature that are also utilized as teaching materials to serve as centers for the dissemination of global environment and energy-related education.