The education ministry plans to seek ¥45 billion in its fiscal 2010 budget request to help prevent high school students facing financial difficulties from dropping out, ministry sources said Thursday.
School expense subsidies are already in place for elementary and junior high school pupils, but the envisaged aid would be the first of its kind for high school students, they said, noting the new program is aimed at an estimated 450,000 students with annual household incomes of ¥3.5 million or less.
Tuition fees of about ¥110,000 for public high schools and ¥320,000 for private schools may be waived under an existing program, which was tapped by some 396,000 students in fiscal 2007. In addition, additional annual expenses of ¥230,000 on average are currently needed per student at public high schools and ¥460,000 per student at private schools.
The Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry is considering providing the planned subsidies to schools for admission fees as well as facility and equipment costs that comprise most of the expenses for private high schools. The subsidies would be given directly to students for textbook and uniform costs and would require no repayment, the officials said.