Only a little more than half of English teachers at public high schools are certified with advanced levels of English proficiency tests, and the rate is less than 30 percent for those at junior high schools, according to an education ministry survey released Monday.

The survey conducted in fiscal 2014 on English education found that 55.4 percent of teachers who teach English in public high schools have either Grade 1 or Grade Pre-1 of the Eiken test, or those with TOEIC score of 730 and higher, while the number stands at 28.8 percent for those at junior highs.

Under the Eiken, Japan's most popular English proficiency test, grades ranges from 1 to 5, with pre-1 standing between Grade 1 and Grade 2.