JAPAN’s latest attempt to reduce the pressures on children and stimulate their creativity has had a cool reception from teachers, parents and even pupils.
The scrapping of Saturday classes from April 1 was expected to prove popular as many Japanese children seem to spend most of their waking hours studying.
Instead, many parents fear the shorter week and a more liberal curriculum will handicap their children’s chances of passing the all-important university entrance exams.
A poll, conducted by the Yomiuri newspaper, revealed that 60 per cent of respondents were against the five-day school week - which Japanese children last enjoyed 50 years ago - while 75 per cent feared children will use the extra time to play video games or watch TV.
Another survey by the government confirmed that most pupils would prefer to spend their newly freed-up Saturdays “doing nothing in particular”.
However, parents have other activities in mind for their offspring. Most want their children to spend their holidays cleaning their rooms or helping out with housework, says the survey.
Others have reacted to the shorter school week by enrolling their children into Saturday crammers, or private schools that retain Saturday as a working day.
Many state schools, sensing parent concerns over lost study time, have introduced optional Saturday classes for their pupils.
Elementary teacher Shinobu Sato explained: “It is obvious that the amount of students’ learning has decreased because of the introduction of the five-day week, which I believe will lead to less, not more creativity.”
It seems many students are not happy either. According to one survey, 75 per cent of Tokyo students are worried about a decline in their abilities.
