  Rise in tuition will deprive students of a chance to go to university -- Akahata editorial, December 17 (abridged)In the next year's budget, the government plans to increase the tuition for national universities and reduce its subsidies to private universities. College tuition is already too high, making higher education no longer affordable for many households. At present, students entering national universities pay about 800,000 yen (about 7,655 dollars) that includes tuitions and admission fee. The amount is about 1.3 million yen (12,440 dollars) for private universities. But household income has continued to decrease over the last six years. Even the education ministry's panel points out that heavier financial burdens may force some students to give up receiving higher education. The panel worries that it may not guarantee opportunities to study for all those who wish to. By international standards, it is extraordinary for Japan to set such high tuition fees that undermines the right to receive an equal education. In many European countries, college education is free of charge or very low cost, and in most cases students are not required to pay back scholarship money. In Japan, 56.9 percent of a university's running cost depends on tuition fees. It is the third highest rate among 30 countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The reason is that the Liberal Democratic Party-led government stands for the "beneficiary pays principle", arguing that students will benefit from education and thus continues to reduce its responsibilities as well as subsidies to higher education institutions. Along with Republic of Madagascar and Republic of Rwanda, Japan still withholds implementation of Article 13 of the United Nation International Covenants on Human Rights which states, "Everyone has the right to education. Primary education should be compulsory and free to all." The need now is for the government to abandon the "beneficiary pays principle" and take budgetary steps to curb an increase in college tuitions. What's more, it should end its reservation of Article 13 of the U.N. Covenants and take a step to reduce household burdens for education. (end) |