Local Autonomy and the National Liability to Fund Public Compulsory Education : exposing the fraud of deregulation and decentralization(I <Special Papers 1>Compulsory Education Reform and Local Autonomy)

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  • 義務教育費国庫負担制度と教育の地方自治 : 地方分権改革の欺瞞性とその矛盾(I <特集1>義務教育改革と教育の地方自治)
  • 義務教育費国庫負担制度と教育の地方自治--地方分権改革の欺瞞性とその矛盾
  • ギム キョウイクヒ コッコ フタン セイド ト キョウイク ノ チホウ ジチ チホウ ブンケン カイカク ノ ギマンセイ ト ソノ ムジュン

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Some observers say that the government has the policy to deregulate the whole system of public education and decentralize educational decision-making, though Japanese school system has been highly centralized traditionally. They believe that the decentralization and deregulation policy will help to reform public schools. For example, the national government has the legal liability to pay half of the elementary and junior high teachers' salary. It has contributed to realize the equal opportunity of education for all students regardless of the funding ability of their own municipalities. But, for some observers, it has prevented local governments from developing their own educational policies. So they insist on abolishing the national funding system for compulsory school teachers' salary, deregulate the teacher allocation standards and give the prefectural government more funds with discretionary powers. I think these observers may overlook the real nature of these policies. From my point of view, the deregulation policy will organize the education system more competitively and create serious gaps between the wealthy municipalities and the poor municipalities, high-income families and low-income families. It will make the educational opportunity highly unequal and extremely unfair. Moreover, the decentralization policy will help to exempt the national government from the liability to achieve the national minimum of the public education and transfer it to the local governments. The decentralization policy will not give them more autonomy at all. Under the deregulation and decentralization, the local government will have less funds for their public schools and more liabilities to convince the students and parents of poor public education. Now each local government should realize the liabilities to achieve the welfare of their citizen again, exercise the autonomy to manage the public school according to the local consensus, and protest the national government's policy if necessary.

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