Japan listed at first position when it comes to equality in education

In a world where richer are getting richer (undoubtedly) and poorer are getting poorer, the educational system of almost all the countries has failed to provide the right balance to the students in spite of their respective background, class and status. Children of richer section attend schools that are rich in facilities, staff, faculties and premise, whereas the poorer children are stuck with shabby facilities, out-of-date and textbooks, undisciplined environment, etc.

In many countries and including the United States, student’s economic condition determines the quality of education they receive. But it is exceptional in Japan, according to the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), Japan ranks highest among its peers in providing its rich and poor students with equal educational opportunities. The OECD estimates that in Japan about 9 percent of the variation in student performance is explained by students’ socio-economic backgrounds.

The country has low drop out of the school and few students struggle to get admission, the high-school graduation rate is as high as 96.7 percent and higher than the OECD average and the high-school graduation rate in the United States which is at 83 percent. “It’s one of the few [education] systems that does well for almost any student,” Andreas Schleicher, who oversees the OECD’s work on education and skills development.

Among all reasons why Japan has been excelling in providing quality educations to the students, one of them is its procedures to appoint teachers to schools. Prefectures are the ones who appoint teachers of schools, and their school assignments change every three years or so in the beginning. “There’s a lot going on to redirect the better teachers, and more precious resources, towards the more disadvantaged students,” Schleicher said.