A survey by the All Japan Teachers’ Union (Zenkyo) revealed that the number of unassigned teachers in elementary, junior high and high schools nationwide was 4,037 as of May. The problem is more serious than in a survey conducted at the same time last year, and the number of unassigned substitutes for those on maternity leave and sick leave has doubled. ◆Unassigned teachers on maternity leave and sick leave to double from 2023 The survey was conducted by local organizations to which Zenkyo sent questionnaires, which asked local boards of education about the number of unassigned teachers as of May 1. Responses were received from 37 prefectures and 10 designated cities, including Tokyo. The names of the prefectures and designated cities that responded were not made public. The number of unassigned teachers by school type was 1,732 for elementary schools, 1,244 for junior high schools, 473 for special needs schools, and 433 for high schools. The most noticeable unassigned teachers were substitutes for those on maternity leave and sick leave. The number of unassigned teachers due to lack of replacements for maternity and childcare leave was 425, and 293 were on sick leave.
In addition, among the prefectures and cities designated by government ordinances that responded, the number of unassigned teachers in 24 prefectures and 5 designated cities that also responded to the survey at the same time last year was 2,018 last year and 2,753 this year, a 1.36-fold increase. In particular, the number of unassigned substitute teachers for maternity and childcare leave, sick leave, etc. doubled from 400 to 804.
◆Part-time lecturers fill the gaps: “We need to fundamentally rethink how we work”
When asked how they dealt with the unassigned teachers, many of the local governments that responded said they filled the gaps in classes with part-time lecturers, etc. Zenkyo Central Executive Committee member Itabashi Yutaro appealed, “Since school duties and other duties other than teaching are not part of the part-time teacher’s duties, other teachers and staff have no choice but to take on the responsibility, which is exacerbating the long and overworked work. I want a fundamental rethinking of how teachers work.”
In the free comments, there were voices such as “Classes without homeroom teachers started to become unsettled” (elementary school), “Despite 100 phone calls by the vice principal, we could not find a replacement teacher” (junior high school), “While being the homeroom teacher for the support class, he also teaches regular classes, conducts regular exams, and gives evaluations” (same), and “Last year, nearly 10 teachers were on sick leave” (special needs school). (Tetsuya Enomoto) Tokyo Shimbun, July 21, 2024 06:00 ★12024/07/21 (Sun) 09:02:36.3 ※Previous thread
100 cases lol Is it a list of people who quit teaching for various reasons? They’re people who said they were quitting, so obviously there’s no hope Their approach was totally wrong
I’m from the ice age generation, but at the time, hiring was cut back so much that people I know who graduated from national or public universities of education ended up working as part-timers or part-time cram school instructors.
>>24 They’re the generation that was constantly told, “There are plenty of instructors to replace you, so if you have a problem, quit.” Now, the replacements that were supposed to be plentiful are gone, and the people who kept saying that are reaching retirement age, so the people who were told that are the ones who are suffering.
Well, I don’t have a teaching license, but I do have a doctor’s license. If I could become a teacher, I’d be okay with it lol. If I saw that a certain field of expertise would allow me to become a police inspector, I wouldn’t care either way after a while. I’ll do it lol.
I don’t know… Are today’s elementary school students a source of pension funds? They’ll definitely find a reason to abolish pensions. There’s no reason to support them.
Nowadays, teachers are just for losers. Besides moms, the number of children is sure to decrease even more. Unlike companies that can develop the market, teachers are just people who deal with the loss and can’t do anything on their own. No one wants to take a job that has no future.
>>32 There are only a few companies left that can win lol Do you understand? They are global and related to space, regenerative medicine, and AI. After that, it’s just a steady decline lol Unfortunately, that’s the reality Japan is facing now lol
During the ice age, hiring had almost stopped. Under the Koizumi administration, they talked about the “spirit of 100 sacks of rice” and slashed the money spent on education. Then the burden was concentrated on the remaining teachers, and they collapsed.
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