Nearly all public schools in Japan are connected to the Internet, and 58 percent of these have their own Web site, it was learned Friday.
The survey was conducted at the end of March by the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry. Schools surveyed included elementary, junior high and high schools.
According to an education ministry survey, about 53 percent of teachers use educational software and Internet material in class. This figure is 5 percentage points up from the previous year and represents the first time more than half the teachers surveyed said they use computers in class, the ministry said.
The ministry's original aim was to attain this level by the end of fiscal 2001.
Its new goal is to have almost all public school teachers using computers in class by fiscal 2005. It plans to beef up the training program for teachers accordingly.
At public elementary schools, 66 percent of teachers use computers in class while 46 percent do so at junior high schools. Only 38 percent of high school teachers use computers, according to the survey.