National university students seeking scholarships increase tenfold in 5 years

Japan Press Weekly

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

National university students seeking scholarships increase tenfold in 5 years

The National University Association on October 29 said its recent survey found that the number of students who applied for scholarships offered by their universities has increased ten times in the last five years.

A growing number of national universities (89 in total) have their own scholarship programs in order to supplement the tuition-exemption and student-loan systems provided by the government and the Japan Student Services Organization respectively because these systems are inadequate to enable low-income students to continue studying.

Government spending for higher education in Japan is the lowest among member countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

According to the survey, 44 national universities have their own grant-type scholarship programs that do not require recipients to pay back the grants, up 34 from 2004. The number of applicants also increased tenfold to 2,393 from 253.

Meanwhile, 27 national universities provide their own tuition-exemption systems and 29,520 students applied. There was only one such university in 2004 and 5,406 students applied.

Other national universities claim they are unable to introduce their own scholarship programs due to financial difficulties.

The National University Association points out that each university faces difficulties in managing its own scholarship program and that it is necessary for the government to establish a national grant-type scholarship program, increase funding for the tuition-exemption system, and cut tuition fees for national universities.

Hamada Jun’ichi, president of the University of Tokyo, also says, “To universities, the issue of the rising cost of education is the most important concern. I hope the new government will seriously discuss how to deal with higher education issues.”

- Akahata, October 30, 2009