The government shouldn’t rush to reach a decision on pushing back the start of an academic year to September, a prospect that would entail momentous changes to the nation’s educational system and possibly cost universities billions of yen in losses, a group of scholars said in a statement Monday.
In the petition, submitted to the education ministry and the Prime Minister’s Office, the Japanese Educational Research Association stressed the need for “thorough, nationwide discussions” on the abruptly floated idea of shifting the start of Japan’s academic year to fall from the current April.
The rationale for such a historic shift — which, if realized, would call for a root-and-branch overhaul of the nation’s century-old school calendar — is to give teachers and students a chance to wait until the coronavirus may have relented in September before starting school life afresh. Most schools currently remain closed due to the virus, making them hard-pressed to complete the designated curriculum if the current year ends next April as scheduled.