A government panel on education is thinking of trying to abolish the five-day school week by letting public elementary, junior and senior high schools offer classes on Saturdays, according to the final draft of its second report obtained Saturday.
The draft also calls for introducing a system that would let parents and students choose which schools they want to attend and alter their budgets in line with their achievements to bring about distinctive education and attract students.
The new Saturday class and student choice options were drafted as part of the panel's review of the "education with latitude" policy that was adopted to allow students to develop more of their individual potential, but critics have blamed the policy for causing a decline in academic performance.