| DPJ study group announces outline of new education basic law proposal |
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On May 12, the DPJ research committee on basic education issues held the 6th session of its DPJ Education Basic Law Study Group at party headquarters. The chair of the study group, former education minister and member of the House of Representatives Takeo Nishioka, announced a chairman's draft of the outline for a DPJ Education Basic Law, based on opinions expressed by DPJ members in previous meetings of the study group. Intensive debate lasted for almost five hours, with fifty-five Diet members in attendance.
Following the debate, Chair Nishioka, advisor to the research committee, DPJ Policy Research Committee Chair Takeaki Matsumoto, Study Group Deputy Chair Osamu Fujimura, Vice Chair Taisuke Sato, Secretary General Kan Suzuki and Deputy Secretary General Hirofumi Ryu held further discussions. After this, the Outline for a Japanese National Education Basic Bill (New Law)" (Proposed by the DPJ Education Basic Law Study Group) was announced to the press at party headquarters.
In this bill for a new law, the use of the word "patriotism", which is currently a focus of debate, is dealt with by including the expression "nurture a spirit of love for Japan" in the preamble. Furthermore, the object of this love is "Japan" itself rather than "the nation" as a system. The Japanese expression kanyo (nurture) means bringing up in a natural unforced way. In the government proposal, the aim of education is described as "developing an attitude of love for our nation and native land". The new law proposed by the DPJ consists of a preamble and 21 clauses.
At the press conference, Nishioka explained, "This is a entirely different piece of legislation to the revision to the Basic Law on Education proposed by the government and ruling parties. It is not a counterproposal." He stressed that the government proposal was a full revision of existing legislation, but the DPJ proposal was a completely new law. He added that once the bill had undergone the appropriate party procedures it would be submitted to the Diet, saying that "the date of submission is not yet determined, but it will be submitted during the current Diet session."
The main features of the DPJ's proposed legislation were then explained by study group Secretary General Kan Suzuki. These are as follows:
1. Clause 1. "The Objectives of Education". The objectives of the current Basic Law on Education cover a broad spectrum. In contrast, the DPJ proposal places great emphasis on "the education of real sovereign citizens based on the spirit of the Japanese constitution", stressing respect for human beings, providing the necessary talent to create a democratic and culturally-rich nation, society and family life, and resolving to develop human resources healthy in both mind and body who can contribute to world peace and the welfare of the human race.
2. Clause 2. "Guaranteeing the Right to Learn". One of the main features of the law. By changing the expression, "the people" in the current Basic Law on Education to "anyone", the DPJ will endeavour to ensure that the right to learn is strengthened.
3. Clause 3. "Preserving and Maintaining Appropriate and Optimum Educational Opportunities and Environment". The DPJ aims not just for equal opportunities or "simple equality" but to preserve and maintain an appropriate and optimum environment that corresponds to the circumstances facing each child.
4. Clause 6. "Preschool Education". This clause has been newly created to respond to the needs of the times. It states that "The state and local authorities will endeavour to gradually introduce voluntary education for preschool-age children", and clearly prescribes the responsibility of the state and local authorities with regard to preschool education.
5. Clause 13. "Special Needs Education". This clause further extends the international trend toward the protection of disabled people's right to learn. The state and local authorities are obliged to provide specific and optimum help and assistance on an individual basis. This will also cover those who have been temporarily disabled.
6. Clause 14. "Job Skills Education". The DPJ holds the view that such education is indispensable in order to resolve the problems faced by Japan's youth. As measures to deal with the phenomenon of job-hopping part-timers and NEETs, we propose providing such young people with the opportunity to engage in job skills education so they can learn to respect the value of labour and obtain professional knowledge and ability.
7. Clause 16. "Lifeskills and Religious Education". Cases of children killing children have been occurring with increasing frequency of late. As a countermeasure, this clause explicitly refers to the need to "consider the significance of life and the meaning of death" and places great emphasis on developing an attitude of respect for living things, establishing that this should be respected in education.
8. Clause 17. "Education for an IT Society". The ability to experience a virtual reality through computers, TV games and the like has had an unforeseen impact on our children, casting a black shadow over them. Based on such circumstances, this clause clearly expresses the DPJ's resolve to fully educate all of our young students about the possibilities, limitations and problems of communication in virtual environments.
9. Clause 18. "Education Administration". We believe that democratic management must be undertaken. To this end, we have included the sentence "Education administration should take place based on the principle of democratic management." Furthermore, this clause includes the concept of community schools, through which "the children of a community will be educated in that community."
10.Clause 19. "Educational Promotion Plan." Recognising the reality that "the ratio of education spending to GDP in our country is the lowest amongst developed nations" this clause calls for the state to establish a comprehensive and detailed plan for educational promotion, as well as for the inclusion of the preservation and expansion of the educational budget as an aim of the plan, and for the plan and its results to be announced to the public via the Diet.
(06/05/12) |
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