The education ministry has decided to craft curriculum guidelines for undergraduate programs setting minimum knowledge and techniques required for graduation, with the aim of maintaining the quality of education at universities, ministry sources said Tuesday.
The move comes amid increasing concerns over the possible deterioration in the quality of college education as the number of applicants has been dropping amid a declining fertility rate.
However, some university officials are expected to express reluctance to any interference by the government when it comes to deciding the educational curriculum at universities, pointing to the university education's principle of independence and autonomy.
At present, university curricula are left to the discretion of each university, while those at elementary, junior high and high schools are created based on the guidelines compiled by the ministry.
In order to respect academic independence, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology plans to call on the Science Council of Japan, an organization comprising scientists from a variety of fields, for deliberations on the matter.
By introducing curriculum guidelines, which will be on a department basis, the ministry aims to tighten graduation criteria and facilitate the assessment of curricula introduced by each university and its educational outcomes.
The move also reflects Japan's apparent bid to streamline university education evaluation standards since the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is considering launching a study to assess university educational outcomes using the world's standardized criteria and Japan is set to take part in the study.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8UFLPR82&show_article=1
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