The Education, Science and Technology Ministry has decided to revise the current system of scholarships for foreign students coming to Japan for periods of less than a year, aiming to expand and improve short-stay programs at universities here, according to government sources.
In Europe and the United States, most students who study abroad do so for only three to 12 months.
The new program will start in the next fiscal and academic year, both of which begin April 1, the sources said.
Quotas for the scholarships are decided by the Japan Student Services Organization, an independent administrative institute, according to the number of international students at each university. But from next academic year the quotas will be decided by the ministry after examining the quality of curriculums for international students at each university.
Currently, the student service organization rubber-stamps recommendations for scholarships from universities. Under the new system, however, administration of the scholarship program for international students on short-stay programs will be transferred from the organization to the ministry, which will conduct more rigorous screening.
The ministry will oblige universities to submit "study programs" that detail curriculums for such students and the universities' preparations for accepting them.
If the ministry approves a university's program, the quota for foreign student scholarships at that institution will remain at current levels. But universities that fail to pass the ministry' screening process will see their quota cut, according to the sources.
Through such advance screening, which comes before screening of the students' scholarship applications, the ministry aims to help universities attract top-quality foreign students, the sources said.
The ministry will exercise its authority in deciding which students get the scholarships, which are worth 80,000 yen a month, aiming to secure the best candidates.
The series of reforms take into consideration the fact that foreign students increasingly opt for short-term programs, rather than long-term programs of two years or more.
According to the student services organization, the number of foreign students on short-stay programs of less than a year as of May 1 was a record 8,368, up 945 from the previous academic year.
On the other hand, the number of students on longer-period programs was 110,130, down 374 from fiscal 2006.
Other evidence suggests that students on short-stay programs tend to return for another round of studies, according to the sources.
The government has decided to expand and improve the scholarship program in the belief that it will be beneficial if top quality students can be persuaded to come to Japan once or more, the sources explained.
This academic year, 1,700 international students were awarded scholarships. The government plans to increase the number to 1,800 in the next academic year, the sources added.
(Dec. 30, 2007)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/world/20071230TDY02302.htm
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