Easy question and 10 points on Japan education?

Question:

Okay, so I got all of this info off of a site, that said it hadn't been updated since July 27, 2006, and I just want to make sure that it is still current, correct, and up-to-date. It's for a 4-h project, so I really appreciate any and all the help that I can get!

Here's the info:

Please check it out and tell me if you think that it's still legit.


The present Japanese school system was established soon after World War II. Currently in Japan, children must attend 9 years of compulsory education from the ages of 6 to 15. As of 1997, approximately 96.8 percent of junior high students went on to high schools and 47.4 percent of high school students went on to colleges and universities.
Japanese education has a centralized uniform curriculum. Japanese society places a heavy emphasis on the schools students attend; therefore, there is high competition to attend prestigious schools. As a result, most young students attend juku (cram school) in the afternoons, evenings, Saturdays, and holiday to prepare for the entrance exams.
The current system has seen some problems. The competetion has caused increased levels of suicide, increased dropout rates and problems with bullying. As a result, there has been a call for school reform.

Also, here's the site, if it helps:

http://www.amphi.com/~psteffen/fmf/refor…


Thanks ahead of time guys!

Answer:

Actually, most of it is just stereotype.

First, not "most" attend cram schools. Some do. I'm not sure how many percent is really going to a cram school. But I think it's not so many as to be called "most".

I'm Japanese. But I never attended a cram school for my entire school life.


I doubt if competition is really hard. Since birth rate in Japan is declining rapidly, now ALL kids who want to go to a college, can join. Because the number of college opening is more than the number of 18 y.o. kids.


In fact, the government loosened its school system during 1995-2000 so that kids can enjoy their life more. But as a result, many people say that their ability is declining. So now, they are trying to make it HARD again.

>As a result, there has been a call for school reform.

I think you are saying like this calling for a reform to make it easy. But in reality, they are trying to make it harder.